The Consequences
by Zanessalover576
Summary: Sequel to The Choice. Troy and Gabriella's daughter, Grace is one and a half. Follow the couple through their ups and downs during their journey through parenthood. Will Troy and Gabriella get married? Will they both start and finish college? Where does their relationship stand?
1. Daddy's Little Girl

A year and a half later, Grace was almost two years old. She looked exactly like Gabriella, only with Troy's cobalt blue eyes. Grace was very talkative and was always interested in learning new things. She was a total daddy's girl and loved when Troy would come home from work. Gabriella had been commuting to U of A and was almost half way done with school. Troy and Maria were so proud of her. Troy was still working at the auto shop and was waiting for Gabriella to finish school before he started. The couple had moved out of the guest house and into a home that was affordable near Maria's. Their relationship was stronger than ever but wasn't perfect. No one's relationship at the age of eighteen ever is. One night, Troy opened the door and smiled when he saw Grace running as fast she could towards him. He kneeled down to his daughter's level and opened his arms and caught her once she ran into them.

"Hi baby. Did you miss me?" Troy asked.

Grace nodded.

"Where's mommy?" Troy asked.

Grace looked at the living room and pointed her finger in that direction.

"Okay, let's go see mommy" Troy said standing up with Grace still in his arms.

Troy carried Grace on his hip and walked into the living room. He smiled when he saw Gabriella sitting at the table doing homework. Troy walked over to the table.

"Hey, how was your day?" Troy asked.

"Good. How was the shop?" Gabriella asked.

"Busy. How was school today?" Troy asked.

"Good. Mom said that Grace didn't have a nap today. That's why she's so hyper" Gabriella said.

Troy looked at Grace in his arms.

"You had no nap?" Troy asked his daughter.

Grace tilted her head and looked at her father innocently.

"No nap" Grace said.

"Why?" Troy asked.

"I don't know" Grace said.

Troy couldn't help but chuckle at Grace's expressions as she talked. He kissed Grace's cheek.

"Alright Gracie. Daddy has to take a bath. You stay down here with mommy okay?" Troy said putting her down.

"No!" Grace cried.

"I'll only be gone for a little bit sweetheart. Mommy is here" Troy said.

"Grace, I have a surprise for you" Gabriella said getting up from the table.

"Surprise?" Grace asked innocently.

"Yeah" Gabriella said.

Grace turned her attention to Gabriella and Troy took the opportunity to run upstairs. This was their daily routine. Twenty minutes later, Troy came downstairs.

"Chad called me on my way home. He wanted to get a game going" Troy said.

"Before his big game on Saturday?" Gabriella asked.

Troy nodded. Chad was going to U of A as well. He was playing basketball and was really happy that he was playing again.

"Just a quick one" Troy said.

"They are never quick" Gabriella said.

"Well, this one will be" Troy said.

"Okay" Gabriella said.

Gabriella made dinner and the little family ate together. The couple then gave Grace a bath and put her to bed. Gabriella then sang Grace the song that she had been singing to her since she was born.

 _Goodnight to you._

 _Goodnight to me._

 _Now close your eyes and go to sleep._

 _Goodnight._

 _Sleep tight._

 _Sweet dreams tonight._

 _Goodnight._

 _I love you._

"Good night baby. I love you" Gabriella said.

"Good night sweetheart. I love you" Troy said.

The couple left the room and went downstairs.

"Did you finish your homework?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded tiredly.

"Yeah" Gabriella said.

Troy leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips softly.

"Hi" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"Hi. Taking off your daddy hat now?" Gabriella joked.

Troy nodded. Gabriella wrapped her arms around Troy's neck. She leaned in and kissed Troy's lips softly.

"Dad called me today" Troy said.

"Oh? How is he?" Gabriella asked.

Lucille and Jack had gotten used to the couple having a baby and were now accepting of it.

"He's fine. He was wondering when Chad's next game was" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled sadly.

"You will be there soon enough babe. I just have a couple more semesters and then I'm done" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"I know and I'm not complaining. It just does kind of suck that we don't play together. It feels like we live different lives, which I know we do. But- "Troy started.

"It bothers you sometimes" Gabriella finished.

Troy nodded. Gabriella smiled and kissed Troy's cheek.

"You will be out there soon enough and then once you are, you will be dying to come home" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"Always. You are Grace are my world. I wouldn't trade it for anything" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"Daddy" Grace called.

Troy smiled. He released Gabriella and walked upstairs. Troy saw Grace holding her blanket and teddy bear, which she named Daddy Jr, because Troy had gone on a trip to San Francisco a couple months before and had given her it so she wouldn't cry. Troy had sprayed the bear with his cologne so it would feel like he was with her when he couldn't be.

"What's wrong Grace?" Troy asked kneeling down to her level.

"There's a monster" Grace said.

"A monster? Do you want daddy to catch him?" Troy asked.

Grace nodded. He opened his arms and Troy lifted his daughter into his arms. Troy walked into the bedroom and turned on the light. He looked around the room and opened the closet. Troy looked into Grace's crib.

"I don't see any monsters baby. I think I scared them away" Troy said.

"Yay" Grace said.

Troy smiled.

"Alright, I'm going to put you back into your bed okay?" Troy said.

"Okay" Grace said.

Troy placed Grace in her bed carefully. He then pulled the covers over her. Troy kissed his daughter's head softly.

"I love you" Troy said.

"I love you" Grace said.

Troy smiled.

"Go to sleep sweetheart" Troy said.

Troy watched Grace's eyes close and he turned off the light. He walked out of the room quietly and went downstairs.

"What happened?" Gabriella asked.

"She had a bad dream" Troy said.

"Is she okay?" Gabriella asked.

"Yeah, she's fine" Troy said.

"Okay" Gabriella said.

The couple went to bed that night and fell asleep in each other's arms. A couple days later, Troy was getting ready for work and Gabriella was at school. He had to drop Grace off at his parent's house and go to work and then Gabriella would pick her up after school. Troy walked into Grace's bedroom and looked into her crib.

"Baby, it's time to wake up. Daddy has to get you ready for grandma's" Troy said.

"Mommy" Grace whined.

"Mommy is at school sweetheart. She will be back later" Troy said.

"Mommy" Grace cried.

Troy picked up Grace and placed her on the floor and grabbed a fresh diaper and wipes. He quickly changed his daughter's diaper and dressed her for the day. Troy picked Grace up and set her on his hip.

"I want mommy" Grace said.

"I know you do baby. But she's at school. She's going to be back in a little while okay?" Troy said.

Troy walked downstairs to the kitchen and set Grace in her high chair. He then walked to the refrigerator and picked out a yogurt and fruit container and closed the refrigerator. Troy picked up a spoon and walked back to his daughter and sat in front of her and fed her. After he fed her, he threw the trash away and went to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of milk that Gabriella pumped earlier. Troy put the bottle into the microwave and let it heat up. After it was heated, Troy tested it and made sure it wasn't too hot for Grace. Seeing that it wasn't, he kneeled down and handed the bottle to her and watched her drink it.

"What do you say?" Troy asked.

"Thank you daddy" Grace said.

Troy smiled.

"Your welcome baby. Let's go to grandma's" Troy said.

Troy and Grace went out to the car. Troy helped Grace get into her car seat and buckled her. He placed a kiss on her cheek and closed the door. Troy got into the driver's seat and started driving to his parent's house. Ten minutes later, Troy parked his car in the driveway and went to the backseat and unbuckled Grace from her car seat. He set her on his hip and walked to the front door of his parent's house. Troy pressed the doorbell and waited for someone to answer the door. Lucille opened the door and smiled.

"Hi Grace. Grandpa is in the living room" Lucille said.

Troy put Grace down and kneeled down in front of her.

"Have fun. Give me a kiss" Troy said.

Grace kissed Troy's lips sweetly.

"Thank you. I love you baby. Be good" Troy said.

Lucille smiled and watched Grace walk into the house and over to Jack. She looked at Troy.

"So where are you off to?" Lucille asked.

"The shop. Gabriella will pick her up after school" Troy said.

"Okay. Have good day. Grace, tell daddy you love him" Lucille said.

"I love you" Grace said.

Troy smiled.

"I love you" Troy said.

Troy left the house and drove to work. A couple hours later, the doorbell rang. Jack opened the door and smiled.

"Hey, she's in the kitchen" Jack said.

"Thanks. How was she today?" Gabriella asked.

"A sweetheart, as always" Jack said.

"Good" Gabriella said.

Gabriella walked into the kitchen and smiled when she saw Lucille and Grace eating a cookie that they had just baked.

"Something smells good in here" Gabriella said.

Grace smiled.

"Mommy" Grace said.

Grace got off the chair that she was standing on so she could help Lucille and ran into her mother's arms.

"Hey, what are you guys baking?" Gabriella asked lifting Grace into her arms.

"Chocolate chip" Grace said.

"You made chocolate chip cookies?" Gabriella asked.

Grace nodded.

"Ooh. Can I try one?" Gabriella asked.

"Mama" Grace said.

Grace calls Lucille "Mama" so that she won't get confused between grandmothers. Lucille handed Gabriella a plate with a cookie on it. Gabriella picked up the cookie and took a bite.

"Mm..these are so good" Gabriella said.

Grace smiled proudly.

"You ready to go home baby?" Gabriella asked.

"Daddy?" Grace asked.

"Daddy is working sweetheart. He will be home soon" Gabriella said.

"Oh" Grace said.

Gabriella kissed her daughter's head softly and moved a stray hair out of her face.

"Say goodbye to Mama and Papa" Gabriella said.

Grace hugged Lucille, who kissed her cheek. Gabriella put Grace down and watched her run to her grandfather and hug and kiss him. She then walked back to Gabriella, who held her hand out for her to take. The two girls left the Bolton home and drove home. Gabriella helped Grace get out of her car seat and out of the car. They then walked into the house.

"What did you do at mama's baby?" Gabriella asked.

"Disney princess" Grace said.

Gabriella smiled. Grace loved all the Disney (do not own) Princess movies.

"Oh, which one did you watch?" Gabriella asked.

"Belle" Grace said simply.

Gabriella smiled.

"It's nap time" Gabriella said looking at the clock.

"Daddy not home?" Grace asked.

"No. Daddy will be home soon. Come on let's go upstairs" Gabriella said.

Gabriella and Grace walked upstairs. Gabriella placed Grace in her crib and kissed her head. She walked out of the room and went downstairs and started doing her homework. Two hours later, Gabriella heard the front door open and close. Troy walked into the living room and smiled when he saw Gabriella doing her homework.

"Hey baby" Troy said.

Gabriella looked up and gasped.

"Troy, you are bleeding" Gabriella said.

"It's a little cut" Troy said.

"What happened?" Gabriella asked.

"I was working on a car and I hit the side of my head with the hood. I'm fine" Troy said.

"It's a deep cut" Gabriella said looking at her boyfriend's forehead.

The couple heard Grace waking up through the baby monitor.

"Wait here. Do not move" Gabriella said.

Gabriella quickly went upstairs and brought Grace downstairs. She then looked at Troy.

"You need stitches" Gabriella said.

"Babe, I'm fine. I feel completely fine. Stop worrying" Troy said.

"Daddy, hurt?" Grace asked pointing to the band aid that was trying to cover some of the cut.

Troy put on a brave face for Grace.

"Daddy's fine, baby girl" Troy said.

"Troy, you need to get checked out" Gabriella said.

"Brie, I'm fine. I swear. Now you are freaking Grace out" Troy said whispering the last part.

Gabriella looked at Grace, who was trying to figure out what was going on. She looked back at Troy.

"Fine, but if it gets infected, you are going to get checked out" Gabriella said.

"Okay" Troy said.

That night, the couple put Grace to bed. They walked out of the bedroom and into their own. Troy and Gabriella changed into their pajamas and got into bed.

"Are you feeling okay?" Gabriella asked.

Troy smiled. He pulled Gabriella closer to him and kissed her nose.

"I'm fine baby. I promise" Troy said.

"I'm just worried about you, that's all. You can't get seriously injured, Troy. We have a baby that needs her dad" Gabriella said.

"I know that, Brie. I know that you are worried. I understand that completely. But, sometimes I can't avoid it. Accidents happen" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. The couple fell asleep that night hoping that tomorrow would be a better day. They knew that life was going to be hard with a baby, but they were up for the challenge.


	2. A Baby Changes Things

A couple days later, Gabriella came home from school and smiled when Grace ran into her arms.

"Hey baby, where's grandma?" Gabriella asked.

"Eat" Grace said which Gabriella took as "kitchen".

"Come on, let's go talk to grandma" Gabriella said taking her daughter's hand in her own.

Gabriella walked into the kitchen and smiled.

"Hi mom" Gabriella said.

"Hi honey, how was school today?" Lucille asked.

"Fine. Long, but fine. I'm happy to be home" Gabriella said.

Lucille smiled.

"Troy said he would be working late. Chuck needed him he said" Lucille said.

"Okay. Did he give you a time?" Gabriella asked.

"No. He just said it was going to be late when he got home" Lucille said.

"Alright" Gabriella said.

The two girls said goodbye to Lucille. Gabriella closed the door and smiled when she saw Grace sitting on the couch with her blanket and her teddy bear. She walked over to the couch and sat down next to her daughter. Grace snuggled into Gabriella's side. That night, Troy came home to a dark house. He knew that Grace was asleep because it was way passed her bedtime. Troy also knew that Gabriella would probably be waiting for him in their bedroom. He put his keys and wallet on the counter and walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator and found a container with a post-it and his name on it. Troy smiled. He didn't like when he had to work late, but it was money for their family and that's what mattered. He heated up the contents of the container and sat down at the table and ate. Once he finished, he placed his utensils and dish into the dishwasher and started it. Troy then turned off the light and walked upstairs. He walked into the bedroom and smiled. Gabriella was sitting up in bed, with a book on her chest, sleeping. Troy kissed Gabriella's cheek softly and carefully removed the book, trying not to wake her up in the process. Gabriella moaned in her sleep and opened her eyes slowly.

"Did you just get home?" Gabriella asked sleepily.

"Yeah. Sorry that I was working so late. Chuck needed someone to do the night shift" Troy said.

"Did you find my note and dinner?" Gabriella asked rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Yes I did. Thank you. Everything went okay today?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"I got an A on my chemistry test" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled and leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips softly.

"That's great baby. I'm so proud of you" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"How was my little girl today?" Troy asked.

Gabriella smiled. She loved that Troy loved Grace as much as he did.

"She missed you. But, she was good. Mom said that she was good too" Gabriella said.

"Good. I have the day off tomorrow. I can give mom a break" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Grace will love that you will be home tomorrow" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled and nodded. He leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips softly. Gabriella smiled into the kiss.

"We need to be careful" Gabriella mumbled.

"I thought you went on the pill after you finished breastfeeding a year ago" Troy mumbled.

"I did. I am just-" Gabriella started.

"Worried that this will happen again" Troy finished.

Gabriella looked down, embarrassed. Troy put his index finger under Gabriella's chin and moved it so he was looking directly into Gabriella's eyes. He was trying to see what she was thinking.

"We can only take every precaution we can, Brie. You are on the pill. I will use a condom. Everything's going to be fine. It won't be like last time" Troy said.

"It is always in the back of my mind" Gabriella said.

"I know it is, babe. I know it is. But we can't completely stop everything just because we are scared of something happening right?" Troy said.

Gabriella was silent.

"I'm not trying to pressure you. I am just trying to make you see everything more clearly" Troy said.

"I want to. But, I don't think I can. Not right now" Gabriella said.

"And that's fine. Don't think that I am going to be upset about it. I'm not. I understand your reasoning" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I'm sorry" Gabriella said softly.

Troy smiled.

"Don't be. It's okay" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I'm going to take a shower" Troy said.

"Troy" Gabriella said.

Troy looked at Gabriella and smiled slightly.

"I'm fine, baby. Honestly" Troy said.

"But I made you-" Gabriella started.

"It's fine, sweetheart. Don't worry about it. I will take care of it" Troy said.

Gabriella took a deep breath and released it. Troy picked out a pair of pajamas and went into the bathroom and took a cold shower. Ten minutes later, Troy emerged from the bathroom and walked into the bedroom.

"I'm going to go kiss Grace goodnight" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Troy walked out of the bedroom and went into Grace's. He smiled when he saw her sleeping. Troy leaned down and placed a kiss on his daughter's forehead.

"Night night, baby. I love you" Troy said.

Troy quietly walked out of Grace's bedroom and went back into the master bedroom.

"Is she asleep?" Gabriella asked.

Troy nodded. He got into bed and Gabriella snuggled into his chest.

"What time are you done with school tomorrow?" Troy asked.

"Two. If you can't-" Gabriella started.

"I can watch her. I just wanted to know what time you were done, that's all" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Brie, talk to me" Troy said.

Troy knew that Gabriella had thoughts running through her head.

"I wanted to. I just…I just…" Gabriella started.

Troy wrapped his arms around Gabriella. He kissed her head and rubbed her back as she cried.

"It's okay. Everything's okay" Troy said repeatedly.

Ten minutes later, Gabriella had stopped crying and was staring off into space.

"You want to tell me what's going on in that head of yours?" Troy asked.

"I wanted to…have sex. I just am scared something is going to happen" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"Babe, listen to me and listen to me good okay? You are on the pill. I will have a condom. That is the most protection you can get. There is no chance that you could get pregnant" Troy said.

"Yes, but the condom could break" Gabriella said.

Troy looked at Gabriella and raised one eyebrow. He kissed Gabriella's head softly.

"Stop thinking. I can't even think about this anymore" Troy said turning over with his back facing Gabriella.

Gabriella sighed.

"Great" Gabriella mumbled.

Gabriella turned off the light and fell asleep. The next day, Troy woke up and saw that Gabriella had left for school. He was still annoyed with her and the conversation that they had last night. Troy heard Grace babbling and calling his name. He smiled and got up and walked to Grace's room.

"Hi baby, daddy's here" Troy said lifting Grace out of her crib and lying her down on the floor.

Troy changed his daughter's diaper and kissed her head softly.

"Let's go downstairs" Troy said.

Troy and Grace walked to the top of the stairs.

"Remember how to get down?" Troy asked.

Grace sat down on the top step and smiled brightly. Troy smiled. He walked next to Grace as she sat down on each step going down the stairs. Once Grace got to the last two steps, Troy stood at the bottom and waited for her. Grace stood up and smiled. Troy kneeled down.

"Good job Grace. High-five" Troy said.

Troy held his hand out for Grace and watched her miss his hand and hit the air instead. He chuckled.

"Almost baby" Troy said putting his daughter's hand on top of his.

Grace giggled.

"Come on, let's go eat" Troy said.

Troy and Grace walked into the kitchen. Troy picked Grace up and set her in her high chair. He then went to the refrigerator and took out a bottle of milk and some fruit. He cut up the berries that he had found and put them in a bowl. Troy then put Grace's milk in the microwave and waited for it to heat up. Once the milk was heated, Troy took it out of the microwave and carried the bottle and bowl to the table and set it in front of Grace. Troy watched Grace take a berry and putting It in her mouth, but smearing the juice all over her face.

"You are just like daddy" Troy said.

Grace giggled.

"Daddy?" Grace asked.

Troy's heart swelled every time he heard that.

"Yeah baby. Just like daddy" Troy said.

Troy finished feeding Grace and gave her the bottle of milk. He wiped the berry stains off of Grace's face and lifted her out of her high chair.

"Alright, let's go upstairs and get you dressed" Troy said.

Troy lifted Grace into his arms and set her on his hip. He would let Grace climb up the stairs but since he was the only one home, he didn't want to risk it. Troy walked upstairs and into Grace's room. He had learned a lot about fashion in the year and a half that Grace has been alive. Troy picked out an outfit and changed Grace out of her pajamas. He stood back and looked at his fashion work and smiled.

"I think daddy did good today. Do you think mommy will like it?" Troy asked.

"Yeah" Grace said.

Troy smiled.

"Good. Because you look so cute" Troy said kissing Grace's cheek and tickling her stomach, causing her to break into a fit of giggles.

"Mommy" Grace said.

"Mommy's at school. She will be home soon. Do you want to go see mama?" Troy asked.

"Yeah" Grace said.

Troy smiled. He loved that Grace loved her grandparents and wanted her to spend as much time as she could with them. As a child, Troy spent a lot of time with his own grandparents and he felt like it was one of the most rewarding things he could have ever done. He wanted the same for Grace.

"Alright, let's get your shoes on and we will go see mama" Troy said.

Troy put Grace's shoes on her feet and lifted her into his arms.

"Okay, let's go see mama and papa" Troy said.

Troy walked out of the house and locked the front door. He walked to the car and buckled Grace into her car seat.

"Kiss" Troy said.

Grace leaned in and kissed her father's lips sweetly and giggled.

"Love you baby" Troy said.

Troy closed the door and got into the driver's seat. He drove to his parents house and parked the car. Troy got out of the car and went to the backseat and unbuckled Grace and lifted her out of the car. He closed the door and held his hand out. Grace took her father's hand and they walked to the front door.

"Daddy, bell?" Grace asked.

"You want to press the doorbell?" Troy asked.

Grace nodded. Troy lifted his daughter up and she pressed the doorbell and giggled when she heard the bell ring. He placed her back on the ground and waited for his mother to answer the door. Lucille opened the door and smiled.

"Hi baby girl. Troy, I thought you had the day off today" Lucille asked kneeling down so she could give her granddaughter a hug and kiss.

"I do. But, we were bored and decided to come and see mama and papa so here we are" Troy said.

Lucille smiled.

"Gabi is at school?" Lucille clarified.

Troy nodded. They all walked into the house and Grace ran when she saw Jack sitting on the couch. Jack caught Grace in his arms, which made her laugh.

"So what is your plan for the day?" Lucille asked.

Troy shrugged.

"Just playing everything by ear. When Gab gets home, we will see what she wants to do" Troy said.

"Are you guys fighting?" Lucille asked.

"No fighting" Grace said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Troy smiled.

"Right baby. No fighting. We just got into a weird conversation last night and its kind of awkward" Troy said.

"About what?" Lucille asked.

"There are little ears in the room so I do not want to say" Troy said raising his eyebrow, basically telling her what it was about through his eyes.

Lucille shook her head. She looked at Grace, who was snuggled comfortably into Jack's side.

"I am going to take him upstairs. I need to have a talk with him. You are on Grace duty" Lucille said to her husband.

"Okay" Jack said.

Troy and Lucille walked upstairs and went into the master bedroom. Lucille shut the door and looked at her son.

"She doesn't want to have sex" Troy said.

"Troy, you can't get upset about that. You don't understand how she feels" Lucille said.

"I know how she feels. I was there for everything. She's afraid of it" Troy said.

"As an eighteen-year-old that had a baby a year and a half ago should be. You can't be upset about that, Troy. She's afraid of it because if it happened once, it can happen again. You need to back off about it" Lucille said.

"We would use protection. She's on the-" Troy started.

"It doesn't matter if you use protection or not. She isn't ready for it, Troy. Don't push her" Lucille said holding up her index finger.

Troy stood in silence.

"I know that Grace is a little older and you think Gabriella has gotten over it, but that stays with you. Forever. A mother never forgets about things like that" Lucille continued.

"I just want things to go back to how things were with us. I know that Grace is here and it changed a lot. But, my relationship with my girlfriend-" Troy started.

"It changed too, Troy. It changed too. I know you both love each other to death. But a baby changes things. It will make you strong and more mature. But it will also make you see that you can't be as _intimate_ as you once were" Lucille said.

Troy nodded and was silent for a moment.

"Can you keep Grace tonight? I want to talk to Brie. And not just talk to her like a mom and dad type of talk. I need to talk to her as her boyfriend. She's the love of my life and I just need to figure this out" Troy said.

"We can keep her tonight. She has clothes and diapers here. Don't push her though, Troy" Lucille said.

"I won't" Troy said.

Lucille nodded. Troy and Lucille walked downstairs and saw Jack and Grace watching television.

"Sweetheart, you are going to stay with mama and papa tonight okay? Daddy will come get you tomorrow" Troy said kneeling to her level.

"Mommy" Grace said.

"Mommy will call you when she gets home okay?" Troy said moving a stray hair out of her face.

"Okay" Grace said.

"Give me a kiss" Troy said.

Grace kissed Troy's lips.

"I'll see you later baby. Be good for mama and papa okay? I love you" Troy said.

Troy left his parent's house and drove home. A couple hours later, Troy heard the door open and saw Gabriella walk in. Troy was in the living room watching television. Gabriella walked into the living room and looked around.

"Where's Grace?" Gabriella asked.

"At my parents for the night" Troy said.

"I thought it was your day off" Gabriella said.

"It is. But, I told mom that you and I needed some time alone and she agreed to take her" Troy said.

Gabriella looked at Troy, confused. She walked over to the couch and sat down, knowing that this was going to be a long conversation. Troy turned the television off and sat up and looked at Gabriella. He took her hand in his.

"I know that things are different. I know that Grace changed a lot of things. I don't want us to constantly be like this, Brie. We love each other right?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"Right. Grace is a big part of our lives and she changed how we look at things. I'm sorry that I pushed you last night. I didn't understand how you really felt about it until I looked at the situation through another person's eyes. But, I don't want us to abandon our relationship. We need to work on that too. If we love each other as much as we say we do" Troy said.

"I don't want us to abandon it either, Troy. I miss us and how we used to be. I really do. But, like you said things have changed. My feelings for you will never change. I just can't be as intimate as we used to because I'm scared. I'm scared that this will happen again, even if we use protection. I just can't do it. Even though I trust you with my life and that I love you more than anything. I can't. Not now at least. I don't want you to be upset or hold it against me. It's just how I feel" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded understanding Gabriella's point.

"I won't ever be upset or hold it against you for feeling the way you do, Brie. I would never do that to you. I don't want you to be scared" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I'm sorry for pushing you" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled slightly. She moved closer to Troy and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"We are still learning how to be parents and be adults. I think we are allowed to fight at least once in a while" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"Yeah, but I don't ever want to fight about this again" Troy said.

"I agree" Gabriella said.

Gabriella moved her head so she was looking directly at Troy. She leaned in and kissed his lips softly, but passionately. Troy kissed her back and ran his fingers through Gabriella's hair. Gabriella pulled back slowly and looked at Troy.

"I love you" Gabriella said.

"I love you too" Troy said.


	3. My Heart Won't Go On

A couple weeks later, Gabriella came home from school and smiled when she saw both, Troy and Grace sleeping on the couch. Troy had his arm wrapped around Grace, who was asleep on his chest. Gabriella took out her phone and took a picture. She walked closer to the father-daughter duo and placed a kiss on Troy's forehead. Troy's eyes fluttered open and he smiled sleepily.

"Hi" Troy whispered as he looked down at Grace, who was still sleeping.

"Hi, how long have you guys been sleeping?" Gabriella asked quietly.

"Only an hour. We were watching a movie and around her nap time I saw that she was already asleep. So I fell asleep too" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"Should we put her in bed?" Troy asked.

"Is she completely passed out?" Gabriella asked.

Troy looked down and nodded.

"Then yeah. Bring her upstairs and put her in her crib" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. He carefully stood up and walked upstairs with Grace in his arms. Troy placed Grace in her crib and kissed her head softly. He walked out of the room and went back downstairs.

"How was school?" Troy asked.

"It was good. I got an assignment to create an experiment and present it to my class" Gabriella said.

"That's cool. What are you going to do it on?" Troy asked.

"I don't know yet" Gabriella said.

"Oh" Troy said.

Gabriella sat down next to Troy and kissed his lips.

"I love you" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"I love you too. You okay?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"I just wanted you to know that I love you" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"I do know. But it's always nice to hear" Troy said.

"How was Grace today?" Gabriella asked.

"She was an angel as always. She definitely is your child" Troy said.

"Why?" Gabriella asked.

"She comes into the living room after getting off the last couple of steps and looks at me, completely serious face and everything, and asks me "Daddy, married?". I didn't know what to say. I tried to contain my emotions. I was shocked" Troy said.

"Wow" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"She is definitely your child" Troy said.

Gabriella shook her head.

"What did you tell her?" Gabriella asked.

"I first thought how did she know that we weren't married and then I thought maybe it was my mom or something that said something. So I told her that we would get married when you wanted to" Troy said.

Gabriella raised her eyebrow.

"You put it on me? That's not fair, Troy" Gabriella said.

"Brie, what was I supposed to say to a one-year-old with that type of question?" Troy asked.

"You lie! It's like Santa Claus. You lie until they figure it out on their own" Gabriella said.

"But this isn't that type of situation, Brie. This is a question that will probably be asked several times" Troy said.

"So what do we say?" Gabriella asked.

"We need to figure out what to say" Troy said.

"All her friend's parents will be married and we will be the ones that had her as teenagers and aren't married" Gabriella said shamefully.

Troy's eyes softened.

"Gabriella" Troy said softly.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore" Gabriella said.

"Gabriella, we will get married…eventually. We both have to finish school and have stable jobs. We did this out of order" Troy said.

"I know. Who told her what the word married was in the first place?" Gabriella asked.

Troy shrugged.

"I don't know. Maybe mom said something" Troy said.

Gabriella sighed.

"We will get married Brie. The timing just needs to be right" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Troy kissed Gabriella's cheek softly. A couple days later, Gabriella came downstairs with Grace and smiled when she saw Troy and Chad in the backyard, playing basketball. She walked outside and watched the two men play.

"So are the two of you reliving the glory days or something?" Gabriella asked.

Chad turned around and smiled.

"If you want to call Troy running out of a game to take you to the hospital the glory days" Chad said.

Gabriella smiled. Troy opened his arms and Gabriella placed Grace into them.

 _Flashback_

 _The game started and the two women watched and cheered on the wildcats. In the middle of the game, Gabriella put her hand on her bump and rubbed it in soothing circles._

" _Mom" Gabriella said._

 _Lucille looked at Gabriella and knew something was wrong._

" _Are you in pain Gabi?" Lucille asked._

 _Gabriella nodded. Lucille took Gabriella's hand and they made their way to the ground level of the gym. She then went to the team management and whispered to one of the people standing there. That person then went to Jack and whispered in his ear, who then blew his whistle and motioned for Troy to sit out. Troy walked to the side line and saw Gabriella and Lucille._

" _What's going on?" Troy asked._

" _Gabi needs to go to the hospital" Lucille said._

 _Troy looked at Gabriella, who had her hand on her bump and tears that were threatening to fall._

" _What's wrong baby?" Troy asked._

" _I have a pain in my stomach" Gabriella said._

 _Troy ran his fingers through his hair._

" _What are we going to do Troy?" Gabriella asked._

 _Troy's eyes softened and he sighed. He looked at Gabriella, who was scared to death and then looked at the remaining time of the game on the clock. Troy then looked at Gabriella._

" _This is what we are going to do okay? Listen to me Brie. You and mom are going to the hospital. It will probably take an hour for them to get you into a hospital room and for Dr. Brand to come. I will finish the game and be the first one out and on my way to you okay?" Troy said._

 _Gabriella nodded. Troy leaned his forehead against Gabriella's._

" _I know you are scared sweetheart. But everything is going to be okay alright?" Troy said._

 _Gabriella nodded slowly. Troy leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips softly._

" _I'll see you over there okay?" Troy said._

" _Okay" Gabriella said softly._

" _I love you" Troy said._

" _I love you too" Gabriella said._

"That was scary" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"But the scariest was the birth. That topped everything. I still can't believe you had her in the bathtub. We could have done that at the house" Troy said.

"No, we couldn't have. We didn't know that was even an option" Gabriella said.

 _Flashback_

" _Alright Maria and Lucille, are you going to stay in here or go into the waiting room?" Dr. Brand asked._

" _Ask Gabriella" Maria said._

" _Gabriella, do you want them to stay?" Dr. Brand asked._

" _Go into the waiting room. I have Troy" Gabriella said tiredly._

" _Okay. If you need us, come get us Troy" Maria said._

 _Troy nodded. Maria and Lucille kissed Gabriella's head softly. The two mothers walked out of the bathroom and closed the door behind them. They both had their ears pressed against the bathroom door. Inside the bathroom, Dr. Brand had her equipment set up and ready._

" _Gabriella, on the next contraction, if you feel like you need to push, do it okay?" Dr. Brand said._

 _Gabriella nodded. A couple moments later, Gabriella groaned._

" _I need to push" Gabriella cried._

" _Okay honey. Listen to me carefully. Take a deep breath and push" Dr. Brand said._

 _Gabriella took a deep breath and pushed. She cried as she pushed._

" _Good Gabriella. That was a good one" Dr. Brand said as she pushed._

" _Troy" Gabriella cried._

" _I'm right here baby. You are doing so good" Troy said taking her hand in his._

 _Gabriella stopped pushing._

" _Is it over?" Dr. Brand asked._

 _Gabriella nodded._

" _Alright take a big, deep breath and push" Dr. Brand said._

 _Gabriella pushed hard and screamed. This went on for an hour and a half._

" _Gabriella, one more push and the head will be out okay?" Dr. Brand said._

 _Gabriella's face was dark red and she had a washcloth lying against her forehead. The mothers heard the update and became alert. Gabriella pushed one more time and screamed._

" _Head's out Gabriella. Good work honey" Dr. Brand said._

 _Gabriella looked at Troy, who smiled at her._

" _You are doing so well, babe. I'm so proud of you" Troy said._

" _I can't do it anymore" Gabriella said breathlessly._

" _Take a break, Gabriella. It's alright" Dr. Brand said._

" _I know that she's almost out. I just can't" Gabriella said softly._

 _Troy kissed Gabriella's head softly._

" _It's okay. She's almost here Brie" Troy said._

" _You can touch her if you want" Dr. Brand said._

" _Really?" Gabriella asked._

 _Dr. Brand took Gabriella's hand and brushed it against the baby's head._

" _If you look down, you can see her too" Dr. Brand said._

 _Gabriella looked down and cried._

" _Oh my god" Gabriella cried._

 _Gabriella looked down at her daughter's head and tears ran down her cheeks._

" _Okay, I'm ready" Gabriella said._

 _Troy smiled._

" _Go ahead and push, Gabriella" Dr. Brand said._

 _Gabriella pushed hard and squeezed her eyes shut._

" _That was a good one. I think that was the best one yet. If you do two more of those, she will be out" Dr. Brand said._

" _You can do this babe" Troy said._

 _Gabriella stopped pushing and tried to regain her breath._

" _Take it easy. Take a deep breath and release it" Dr. Brand said._

 _Gabriella took a deep breath and released it._

" _Can I push?" Gabriella asked._

" _Go for it" Dr. Brand said._

 _Gabriella pushed hard and felt the baby move farther out of her body._

" _Gabriella, stop pushing for a second honey. I need to unwrap the cord for around her neck" Dr. Brand said._

" _Troy, I need to push" Gabriella said painfully._

" _I know you do. Dr. Brand has to unwrap the cord and then you can push" Troy said._

 _Dr. Brand unwrapped the cord and then looked at Gabriella._

" _Alright, push one last time" Dr. Brand said._

 _Gabriella pushed and felt the baby leave her body._

" _Gabriella, reach down" Dr. Brand said._

 _Gabriella reached down and pulled her daughter out of the water and onto her chest._

" _Oh my god" Gabriella said._

" _Oh my god" Troy echoed._

 _Gabriella started crying and looked at Troy, who also had tears in his eyes._

" _We had a baby" Gabriella said._

 _Troy nodded._

"I didn't even know about it until recently. You guys went through a lot in the past year and a half" Chad said.

The couple nodded.

"Would you have more kids in the future?" Chad asked.

Troy looked at Gabriella, who looked at him.

"We haven't talked about it" Gabriella said.

"We are just trying to get Gabs through school and then I start. We really haven't figured out what we want to do" Troy said.

"We know that we want to be together though, right?" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. That night, the couple had put Grace to bed. Gabriella got into bed herself and snuggled under the covers. Troy walked into the room.

"You are going to bed early. What's wrong?" Troy asked.

"You don't know what you want, Troy" Gabriella said.

Troy's face softened.

"Baby, I do know what I want. I just meant we don't have any plans set up. We don't know when we will get married or anything like that. I didn't think that you would think that I didn't want to be with you. I do want to be with you, Brie. You know that" Troy said.

"When you said that we haven't figured out what we want to do, what did you mean by that?" Gabriella asked.

"I just said what I meant" Troy said.

"I want to be alone right now" Gabriella said.

"Gabs" Troy said.

Troy" Gabriella said.

Troy sighed.

"Okay" Troy said.

A couple hours later, Gabriella came downstairs and saw Troy laying on the couch in the living room, looking at his phone. She walked over to the couch.

"Can I sit down?" Gabriella asked.

Troy looked up and nodded. He moved over so Gabriella could lie down next to him. The couple sat in silence for a couple moments.

"I want to marry you, Troy. Not just because we have a baby together either. I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to have more babies with you in the future. What you said earlier with Chad, really hurt. It hurt me that after being with me for four years and having a child with me, you didn't even consider that we could get married one day" Gabriella said.

"I didn't mean for it to come out like that, Gabriella. I love you too and I want to spend the rest of my life with you too. Everything you said I want. Things are just finally slowing down. Do you really want to add marriage into the mix? We haven't finished school, we both don't have stable jobs, there is a lot to consider and think about" Troy said.

"We are doing fine, right? We've been living here for a year on our own" Gabriella said.

"I understand that babe. I agree with you too. But we are only eighteen. We have to slow down and look at everything and see if we are really ready for that" Troy said.

"So, four years- "Gabriella started.

"Brie, look at me" Troy said softly.

Gabriella looked at Troy, who put both of his large, warm hands on both sides of Gabriella's face.

"This has nothing to do with us. We are fine. We just have a lot to consider now that we have Grace and the fact that we are young" Troy said softly.

Gabriella swallowed hard.

"But it does have to do with us. We are her parents" Gabriella said.

"I know that. We still need to get everything settled with Grace. She's only a year and a half old" Troy said.

Tears ran down Gabriella's face. Her heart was shattered.


	4. The Rings

Troy looked at Gabriella as tears ran down her face. His heart broke. He hated when she cried, especially if he was the cause. Troy wiped Gabriella's tears away, but they were replaced with fresh ones.

"Baby, I need you to talk to me" Troy said softly.

"What if in the future, when everything is stable, we don't? What if you fall out of love with me?" Gabriella asked.

"It won't happen, Gabriella. I will always love you. There is no doubt about it. You are the love of my life and the mother of my child" Troy softly.

Gabriella took a shaky breath and swallowed hard.

"Can I ask why you are crying?" Troy asked.

"I don't want you to fall out of love with me" Gabriella said.

"That's why you want to get married now?" Troy confirmed.

Gabriella nodded embarrassed of her reasoning.

"Babe, look at me" Troy said.

Gabriella looked at Troy, with tears in her eyes.

"You thinking that I'm going to fall out of love with you shouldn't be a reason to rush and get married. The reason we should get married is that we love each other more than anything. I know that you are thinking about down the line and that's normal. I think about it too sometimes. But, it shouldn't be a reason to get married. Do you understand?" Troy asked softly.

Gabriella nodded.

"I love you, Gabriella. I do. Don't think that I don't" Troy said.

"I love you too" Gabriella said.

The couple sat wrapped in each other's arms for a couple moments silently. Troy looked down at Gabriella and saw her eyes close and he knew that she was thinking. He kissed her head softly.

"How about we go upstairs and get some sleep hmm?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"Okay" Troy said softly.

Troy stood up and held his hands out. Gabriella took her boyfriend's hands and he helped her to a standing position. The couple walked upstairs hand in hand. Gabriella checked on Grace and made sure that she was still sleeping, which thankfully she was. The couple then walked into their bedroom and got into bed. Gabriella snuggled into Troy's chest. Troy put his hand on the small of Gabriella's back.

"I love you" Troy said.

"I love you too" Gabriella said.

Troy leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips softly. The couple fell asleep. The next morning, Gabriella woke up to feeling something on her stomach. She opened her eyes and smiled when she saw Grace smiling and sitting on her stomach.

"Hi baby, where's daddy?" Gabriella asked.

"Bath" Grace said.

Troy came out of the bathroom and smiled.

"Good morning" Troy said.

"Morning" Gabriella said.

Troy walked over to the bed and leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips.

"Did you change her?" Gabriella asked.

Troy nodded.

"She's been changed, fed, and had her milk. She's all set to go" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"Thank you" Gabriella said.

"You are most welcome" Troy said.

"Mommy" Grace said.

Gabriella smiled and looked at her daughter.

"Yes baby?" Gabriella said.

"Kiss daddy?" Grace asked.

"I already did" Gabriella said.

"Again. Again" Grace said.

Gabriella giggled. Troy smiled listening to the mother and daughter conversation. Gabriella leaned in and kissed Troy's lips softly. Grace giggled.

"You like when mommy kisses me?" Troy asked.

Grace nodded. Troy leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips softly.

"Grace kisses?" Grace asked.

Troy kneeled down and kissed Grace. Gabriella did the same. Grace giggled.

"What are we going to do today?" Gabriella asked.

"We have plans today and tomorrow" Troy said.

Gabriella looked at her boyfriend confused.

"What are you talking about?" Gabriella asked.

"I was reading online about young first time parents and their experiences with having kids and their relationship with their partners. Almost all of the articles said that once a month you should make two days free to be with your significant other. To work on your relationship, talk, etcetera. So, mom already agreed to watch Grace until we get back. Your bag is in the car already" Troy said.

"You are crazy wildcat" Gabriella said.

"Come on, we have to drop her off at mom's" Troy said motioning to Grace.

The couple and Grace left the house and dropped their daughter off at the Bolton's. Troy then started driving to their destination.

"Where are we going?" Gabriella asked.

"It's a surprise" Troy said.

An hour later, Troy parked the car.

"Why are we at the airport?" Gabriella asked.

"We are going on an adventure" Troy said.

"Troy" Gabriella whined.

"Still can't tell you where we are going baby. You are going to have to wait" Troy said.

The couple checked their bags in and then waited at the gate. Once their flight had been called, they boarded.

"Where are we going Troy?" Gabriella asked.

Troy looked at Gabriella, who was completely oblivious to where they were going.

"Well my dear, we have been through hell and back together in the last year. We needed some time to ourselves and I thought what better way to do that than to go back to where it all began" Troy said.

Gabriella's eyes grew in size.

"We are going to Colorado?" Gabriella asked.

Troy nodded.

"We are" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled. She leaned in and kissed Troy's lips.

"I thought that being there would bring us back to why we fell in love in the first place" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"That's so sweet of you, Troy" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled. The plane took off. A couple hours later, their plane arrived in Colorado and the couple rented a car and picked up their bags at baggage claim. They then drove to the ski lodge, where they would be staying and checked into their room. Once the couple got settled, Gabriella wanted to take a shower. As she showered, Gabriella heard the door open and smiled. She felt Troy's hands start to explore and she turned around to face him. Troy leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips with as much passion as he could give. He pulled back slowly and helped Gabriella wash her hair and her body. After she was clean, Troy turned off the water. They dried themselves off and changed into clothes and Gabriella looked at him confused.

"I didn't plan it out in my head" Troy said holding a condom in his hand.

Gabriella smiled and nodded.

"Thankfully you stopped when you did" Gabriella said.

Troy looked at Gabriella and smiled.

"I didn't bring you here to try to convince you to have sex. That's not why we are here okay? So don't feel like we have to" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled. She knew he was trying to respect her wishes and remembered their discussion that they had had about having sex again.

"I know. But, thank you for telling me" Gabriella said.

The couple got into bed and just laid in each other's arms.

"Do you remember the night we met?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded against Troy's chest.

"I remember it like it was yesterday" Gabriella said.

"You were reading a book. Or at least trying to" Troy said.

Gabriella giggled and nodded.

"It was a good night" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"The best" Troy said kissing Gabriella's cheek.

Gabriella moved so she was straddling Troy's chest. She leaned down and kissed Troy's lips softly.

"Thank you for bringing me here, babe. It's the perfect getaway and the break that we needed" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"I love you and we needed to just love each other for a couple days by ourselves. Without Grace or anyone" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"I love you too. Even though I miss my baby already" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled and rubbed Gabriella's thigh.

"I miss her too. But, today and tomorrow is mommy and daddy time" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Troy leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips.

"Okay?" Troy said.

"Okay" Gabriella said.

The next morning, Gabriella woke up and smiled when she saw Troy sleeping. She loved when they would just be in bed, lying as close as they could possibly be to each other.

"Getting a nice view?" Troy asked with his eyes closed.

Gabriella's eyes widened. Troy opened his eyes slowly and chuckled at Gabriella's shocked look on her face.

"Good morning" Gabriella mumbled.

"Good morning baby" Troy mumbled.

Troy kissed Gabriella's lips softly.

"Sleep well?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"What are we going to do today?" Gabriella asked.

"We could walk around and explore. We didn't really do that the last time we were here" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"If you want to" Troy added.

"I want to. But, give me ten more minutes of snuggling time please" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled and wrapped his arms around Gabriella's bare back. Gabriella leaned in and kissed Troy's lips. Troy kissed Gabriella back and pulled away slowly, only for Gabriella to kiss him. The couple laid in each others arms just kissing and touching. They hadn't had time alone in a long time. An hour later, Gabriella's head was on Troy's chest, listening to the sound of his heart beating.

"I love you so much. You know that right?" Gabriella asked.

Troy nodded and entwined their fingers together and kissed Gabriella's.

"I love you too Brie. Do you understand now why we needed this?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"I've missed this" Gabriella said.

"Me too. Do you want to go explore?" Troy asked.

"Yeah" Gabriella said.

The couple got dressed and left the hotel. They walked around the ski lodge and reminisced about when they first met. A couple hours later, Troy and Gabriella returned to the hotel room. Gabriella sat on the bed and saw a box. Not just any box. But a ring box.

"Babe?" Gabriella called.

Troy walked out of the bathroom and smiled when he saw Gabriella looking at the ring box.

"What did you find?" Troy asked jokingly.

Gabriella looked up and smiled.

"This better not be-" Gabriella started.

"Why don't you open it first and see what it is" Troy said.

Gabriella opened the box and gasped.

"It's beautiful. But it still better not-" Gabriella started.

"Okay, let me explain what this is. Gabriella, you are the love of my life and the mother of my child. Every single day I fall more and more in love with you. We have gone through so much together and I could never see my life without you or Grace. You are the one that I want to spend the rest of my life with. I want to grow old with you, have a couple more babies with you, love you forever, and everything in between. You are my best friend. This is not an engagement ring. I know that you think it is, but it's not. It's a promise that I will always love you and never do anything to hurt you. I want to marry you one day and this is a reminder of that" Troy said.

Gabriella had tears running down her cheeks.

"Troy" Gabriella cried.

"Too much?" Troy asked.

Gabriella shook her head and cried.

"I love you" Gabriella cried.

Troy smiled and wrapped his arms around her.

"I love you too sweetheart. Forever and always. I promise" Troy said.

"Forever and always" Gabriella repeated.

Troy nodded.

"Do you want me to put it on your finger?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded. Troy slid the ring onto Gabriella's ring finger. Gabriella looked at the ring and smiled.

"It's beautiful, Troy" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"I had help from dad. I can't take all the credit" Troy said.

Gabriella kissed Troy's lips softly. Later that day, the couple had arrived home. Troy and Gabriella walked into the house and smiled when they saw Grace running towards them. Troy caught Grace in his arms.

"Hi baby girl. Did you miss us?" Troy asked.

"Daddy" Grace said.

Troy smiled and kissed Grace's cheek. He held Grace on his hip. Gabriella kissed Grace's cheek. The rest of the day, the little family relaxed around the house. The couple was so happy to know that they were both in a good place in their relationship. A year later, Gabriella and Troy had gotten engaged and were getting married. Troy and his groomsmen and family members were in the groom's suite when Grace came into the room.

"Troy, I think a little girl is trying to find her daddy" Chad said.

Troy smiled. He picked his daughter up and spun her around. Grace looked exactly like Gabriella. Her hair was long and dark brown. She had Troy's cobalt blue eyes and his smile.

"Hi sweetheart, where's mama?" Troy asked.

"With mommy. Mommy wanted me to give you a present" the two-and-a-half-year-old said.

"What is it?" Troy asked as Grace handed him the wrapped box.

"I don't know. Open it daddy!" Grace said.

"Okay, you have to help me though" Troy said.

Grace and Troy opened the box. Troy smiled when he saw the family picture of the three of them. He saw an envelope attached to it and opened it.

 _Wildcat,_

 _Can you believe we are getting married today? I certainly can't. We have gone through so much in the seven years that we have been together. I couldn't have picked a better man to call my husband and father of my child than you. I don't know how I could live without you and I'm so happy that I never have to find out. I can't wait to finally call you my husband even though we've been basically married for the past two and a half years. Haha. Joke. I love you more than words can express. See you at the altar._

 _Love,_

 _Gabriella_

Troy smiled. He leaned down and kissed Grace's cheek.

"Tell mommy that I love her okay?" Troy said.

"Okay daddy" Grace said.

"Alright sweetheart. I'll see you in a little while okay? I love you baby" Troy said.

"I love you daddy" Grace said.

Troy's heart swelled every time he heard that. He was ecstatic when Grace could finally talk in complete sentences and actually say "I love you daddy". An hour later, Troy was waiting at the altar. The ceremony had started and the doors had just opened. Grace was the first one to walk down the aisle. Troy had tears running down his face as he watched his daughter walk down the aisle and over to him. He kneeled down and kissed Grace's cheek and then stood up and took her hand in his. The bridesmaids then came down the aisle, one by one. Finally, their song started to play and Troy swallowed hard and held Grace's hand tighter. Gabriella walked down the aisle in her wedding dress that fit her body perfectly. Her hair was down and in soft curls. Once she got to the altar, Gabriella kneeled down and Grace ran into her arms. She kissed her daughter's cheek softly and then stood back in her place. The ceremony went smoothly and before they knew it, the couple was married and off to their honeymoon.


	5. Smooth Moves

A couple months later, Gabriella had received some exciting news. Grace was at Maria's for the weekend because the couple wanted her to spend time with her grandmother. Gabriella had cleaned the house and put dinner in the oven and was waiting for Troy to come home from work. Gabriella had a semester left of school until she graduated and was so excited. She was brought out of her thoughts when she heard the door open and close.

"Brie?" Troy called.

"In the kitchen" Gabriella said.

Troy came into the kitchen and smiled. He kissed Gabriella's lips softly. She pulled back slowly and smiled.

"Hi, how was your day?" Gabriella asked.

"Fine, how was yours? You are in a good mood today" Troy said.

"I have some news" Gabriella said.

"What is it?" Troy asked.

"You might want to sit down" Gabriella said.

"Is it bad?" Troy asked.

"No, no. It's good news. I think" Gabriella said nervously.

"What's going on babe? You are nervous" Troy said knowing Gabriella's tone.

"Yeah, because I don't know how you will react" Gabriella said.

Troy took Gabriella's hand in hers.

"You know you can tell me anything, Brie" Troy said.

Gabriella took a deep breath and looked at Troy, who was now nervous.

"I'm pregnant" Gabriella said.

"Really?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded nervously. Tears ran down her cheeks.

"No baby. Don't cry. Please don't cry" Troy said wrapping his arms around Gabriella.

Troy kissed Gabriella's cheek.

"We are married this time around Brie. It's a lot different than when we had Grace. I have a job and you are almost done with school" Troy said.

"But you still need to go to school, Troy" Gabriella said wrapping her arms around Troy's neck.

"And I will. You have a semester left until you graduate. That's four months, which is perfect because you won't have to miss school because you are pregnant. After you finish, I will start and then take some time off when the baby comes" Troy said.

Gabriella took a deep breath and released it.

"Everything's going to be fine, baby. We aren't seventeen and we are married" Troy said.

Gabriella put her head in her hands.

"Brie, look at me" Troy said.

Gabriella looked at her husband.

"We can do this. It's going to be fine" Troy said.

Troy leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips.

"Okay?" Troy said softly.

Gabriella nodded.

"Did you go to Dr. Brand's and get checked out?" Troy asked.

"No. I didn't want to go without you" Gabriella said.

"Make an appointment to go get checked out. I will try to get off work" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Troy looked at Gabriella.

"Everything will be fine, sweetheart. I promise" Troy said.

"It's just… we did it again" Gabriella said.

Troy's eyes softened as he listened to his frustrated girlfriend.

"It's different this time, baby. We are adults and our lives are more stable than when we had Grace" Troy said.

Tears ran down Gabriella's cheeks. Troy kissed Gabriella's head softly and wiped her tears away.

"Why don't you go upstairs and take a nap? Maybe you will feel a little better hmm?" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Okay" Gabriella said softly.

"Alright sweetheart. Don't think about it right now okay? Just relax" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. She leaned in and kissed Troy's lips.

"Call me if you need anything" Troy said.

"I will" Gabriella said.

Gabriella walked upstairs. Once he heard the bedroom door close, he sighed. Gabriella was pregnant again. They had unprotected sex again. Even though they were adults and they were stable, it still stressed Troy out and he knew that Gabriella was stressed too. A couple hours later, Gabriella walked downstairs and smiled when she saw that the kitchen and living room was spotless. Whenever Gabriella was upset, Troy would always clean to make her feel a little better than she did before. Gabriella saw that Troy was in the backyard shooting hoops. She walked outside.

"You still got it" Gabriella said.

Troy turned around and smiled.

"Not really. I'm just messing around. Are you okay?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"I just am trying to come to terms with it" Gabriella said.

Troy dropped the basketball that he was holding.

"I understand and I don't expect you to be acting the way a pregnant woman usually does and be happy about it. You are still young babe. Even though we are already parents. We are still young" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"But, I want you to know that I love you very much and I am going to help you through this okay?" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I love you too" Gabriella said.

Troy wrapped his arms around Gabriella and held her in his arms.

"How do you think our parents are going to react?" Troy asked.

"I don't even want to think about it" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"At least we graduated high school and you are almost done with college" Troy said.

"Yeah, but you still have school" Gabriella said.

"I know. But, at least one of us finished" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"When do you want to tell them?" Troy asked.

"I don't know. I'm scared to" Gabriella said.

Troy kissed Gabriella's head softly and rest his chin on top of it.

"Do you think telling them as soon as possible would be better than waiting until after you get checked out?" Troy asked.

"Yeah, but I want to have confirmation that I am actually pregnant. I mean, I feel the symptoms that I had when I was pregnant with Grace, but I want to just make sure" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"So what do you want to do then? It's your call" Troy said.

"Let's just tell them and get it over with" Gabriella said.

"Okay. Do you want me to call everyone and have them meet at mom's? That way we can tell Grace too" Troy said.

"That's fine" Gabriella said.

Troy called their parents and everyone met at Maria's. Everyone sat down in the living room and looked at the couple.

"What's going on?" Lucille asked as she placed Grace on her lap.

"We need to tell you guys something but we are kind of scared to" Troy said.

Maria's eyes widened. She knew what they were going to tell them.

"You are pregnant" Maria said.

Gabriella looked at her mother and her eyes filled with tears.

"Is that true? Are you pregnant, sweetheart?" Lucille asked.

Gabriella nodded. Troy wrapped his arms around his wife and kissed her cheek. Maria stood up and took Gabriella into her arms. She put her hand on her daughter's head and let her cry.

"Everything is going to be okay. You have a semester left until you graduate" Maria said.

"We weren't even trying to" Gabriella said.

"I know" Maria said.

"I messed up again" Gabriella said.

"Gabi, this is just how life goes sometimes. Am I upset that you are pregnant? No. Because you are now an adult and a mother. You can make your own decisions" Maria said.

"I'm sorry" Gabriella said.

"Don't apologize to me. It's alright" Maria said.

Gabriella pulled away from her mother, who then wiped her tears away. Lucille stood up and walked over to Gabriella.

"I'm sorry mom" Gabriella said.

Lucille opened her arms. Gabriella walked into them.

"You are almost done with school and you are married, Gabriella. You just got married and it's normal. I was expecting it at some point. I'm not upset. I wish you guys waited until Troy was done with school, but that's how life is sometimes" Lucille said.

The families talked for a little while longer until they all thought they should leave. The couple and Grace sat in the living room. Grace was sitting in Troy's lap.

"Grace, you are going to be a big sister" Gabriella said.

"Mommy is going to have a baby" Troy said.

"Where is it?" Grace asked.

"It's in my tummy, baby" Gabriella said.

"Can I see it?" Grace asked.

"You can't see it Grace. It's really small right now. But, in a couple days, we will have pictures of the baby that you can see" Troy said.

"Oh" Grace said.

The couple smiled as they watched the toddler try to comprehend what was going on.

"Are you excited for the baby to come?" Gabriella asked.

"Yeah" Grace said.

Gabriella smiled and looked at Troy, who smiled at her. That night, the couple had put Grace to bed. Gabriella got into bed and watched Troy take off his shirt and climb into bed.

"Are you feeling a little better than earlier?" Troy asked.

"A little. Seeing Grace so happy about the baby makes me feel a little better" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"Yeah, she was really happy and that's a good thing" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Are you happy?" Gabriella asked.

"I'm happy. I think we should have waited until both of us graduated, but it's happening" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Get some sleep okay? We can talk about this tomorrow" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. The next morning, Gabriella woke up and felt a wave of nausea come over her. She got up and walked into the bathroom and kneeled in front of the toilet and regurgitated the remains of her stomach. Troy heard Gabriella in the bathroom and got up quickly and walked to the bathroom and knocked on the door.

Babe, are you okay?" Troy asked through the door.

"Morning sickness" Gabriella said tiredly.

"Can I come in?" Troy asked.

"It's.." Gabriella started.

Troy turned the knob of the door and saw that it was unlocked. He walked in and kneeled down next to his wife and held her hair. Gabriella regurgitated the remains in her stomach. After she finished, Gabriella brushed her teeth. She looked at Troy. Troy smiled slightly.

"How are you feeling?" Troy asked.

"Crappy" Gabriella mumbled.

Troy nodded.

"Why don't you go back to bed? I will go pick Grace up from mom's" Troy said.

"I told her that I would pick her up" Gabriella said.

"Brie, you need to take care of yourself right now okay? I got Grace" Troy said.

"Okay" Gabriella said.

Forty-five minutes later, Troy opened the front door and closed it. He looked down at the sleeping toddler in his arms and smiled.

"Gracie baby, you need to wake up" Troy said.

Grace opened her eyes and looked at Troy, with tears in her eyes.

"Mommy" Grace said.

"You want to go see mommy?" Troy asked.

Grace nodded.

"Okay, let's go find her" Troy said.

Troy walked upstairs and into the bedroom and smiled when he saw Gabriella, resting in bed.

"A little girl wanted to see her mommy" Troy said placing Grace on the bed.

Gabriella smiled and opened her arms.

"Hi baby. Did you have fun?" Gabriella asked as Grace snuggled into her side.

"Yeah, when is the baby going to come out?" Grace asked.

Gabriella smiled. She gave Troy a look to give the two girls some time alone. Troy left the room.

"The baby is going to come out when it gets bigger" Gabriella said.

"Like me?" Grace asked.

Gabriella kissed Grace's nose, causing her to giggle.

"Not that big. But close" Gabriella said.

"How will it come out?" Grace asked.

Gabriella froze. She didn't know if she should be giving the "birds and the bees" talk to the three-year-old.

"Mommy's doctor will take it out" Gabriella said.

"Oh" Grace said.

Grace continued to snuggle with Gabriella. Gabriella was happy that Grace was asking questions.

"Hey baby, it's nap time" Gabriella said.

"No nap mommy" Grace said.

"Yes nap. If you take a nap, mommy and daddy will take you out for ice cream after dinner okay?" Gabriella said.

Grace lit up and nodded.

"Alright, let's go" Gabriella said.

Gabriella and Grace walked into the Grace's room. Grace climbed into her bed. Gabriella tucked Grace into her bed and kissed her head softly.

"Go to sleep, Grace. I love you" Gabriella said.

"I love you mommy" Grace said.

Gabriella walked out of the bedroom and closed the door. She turned on the baby monitor and walked downstairs. Gabriella walked into the kitchen and smiled when she saw Troy putting Grace's sippy cup in the dishwasher.

"Troy?" Gabriella said.

Troy looked up and smiled.

"Is she asleep?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"She's asking questions" Gabriella said.

"What kind of questions?" Troy asked.

"About the baby and how Dr. Brand was going to deliver it" Gabriella said.

Troy raised his eyebrow.

"Did you tell her the details of that?" Troy asked.

"No. Of course not" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"What do we tell her?" Troy asked.

"She's three. I don't think she's old enough for the birds and bee's conversation" Gabriella said.

"She's going to ask more questions" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"We just need to figure out something to tell her" Gabriella said.

A couple weeks later, Gabriella came home from her doctor's appointment with Dr. Brand and smiled when she saw Grace and Troy watching a movie.

"Hey" Gabriella said.

Troy turned and smiled. Grace jumped off the couch and ran into her mother's arms.

"Hey baby" Gabriella said lifting Grace and setting her on her hip.

"How was Dr. Brand's?" Troy asked.

"Fine. She said I'm ten weeks" Gabriella said.

"Wow. That's further along than we found out with Grace" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. She handed Troy the sonogram. Troy smiled when he looked at the picture of their unborn baby.

"Sorry that I couldn't be there" Troy said.

"It's alright. Someone needs to stay with Grace. Everyone was busy" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. He opened his arms and Gabriella placed Grace into them. He sat on the couch with Grace in his arms.

"Grace, remember when mommy and I told you that there was a baby in mommy's tummy?" Troy asked.

Grace nodded.

"Well, that is the baby inside mommy's tummy" Troy said pointing to the dot on the sonogram.

Gabriella smiled.

"It's so little" Grace said.

"Yeah, but it's going to grow and get bigger" Troy said.

Gabriella watched the Troy and Grace interact. She was so happy that Troy felt so comfortable talking to Grace about the baby. That night, Gabriella walked into the bedroom after putting Grace to bed. Troy was lying in bed already. Gabriella got into bed and snuggled into Troy's chest.

"You were really good with Grace today" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"I'm her daddy and I want her to understand what's going on. She has a right to know. Even if she doesn't fully understand what's happening" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"I think it was more effective when you talked to her than when I talked to her" Gabriella said.

"I broke it down into simpler terms for her to understand" Troy said.

"You did a good job" Gabriella said.

"Thanks" Troy said.

The couple fell asleep that night, happy that everything was falling into place.


	6. Strides

A couple weeks later, Gabriella was curling her hair and getting ready. Today was her graduation from University of Albuquerque. Troy walked into the bathroom and placed a kiss on Gabriella's cheek.

"Are you excited?" Troy asked.

"Yeah, but also nervous" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"You graduated baby. You didn't give up when things got hard. I'm so proud of you, Brie" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"Is Grace ready?" Gabriella asked.

Troy nodded.

"She's ready to go" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I have major butterflies in my stomach" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"That's the baby congratulating you" Troy said.

Gabriella giggled. She finished getting ready and walked downstairs and smiled when she saw Grace in her dress. Gabriella walked over to her daughter and kneeled down in front of her.

"You look so pretty, baby girl" Gabriella said.

"Thank you" Grace said sweetly.

Gabriella smiled and kissed her daughter's head. The little family drove to University of Albuquerque. Gabriella went with the graduates and Troy and Grace found their seats and met up with their families. The ceremony started. Everyone listened to the speeches that were given by the dean, the president of the university, and selected speakers. The president of the university started handing out the diplomas.

"Gabriella Maria Bolton" the president of the university announced.

Troy and their families cheered as they watched Gabriella walk across the stage and receive her diploma. After the ceremony ended, the families found Gabriella, who ran into Troy's arms. Gabriella wrapped her arms around Troy's neck and cried into his chest. The cries were filled with the emotional roller coaster that they had been on and the hard work that it took to get to this point. Troy held his wife in his arms and rubbed her back.

"I'm so proud of you, baby. So proud. You did it" Troy whispered into her ear.

Gabriella pulled away so that she was looking into Troy's eyes.

"It wasn't necessarily the path that you wanted, but you finished. You are a college graduate. It wasn't easy, but you managed to make it work. Whatever it took, you gave it your all. I have never been so proud of you and I know that Grace is proud of you. I love you sweetheart" Troy said.

Gabriella had silent tears running down her cheeks.

"I love you too. Thank you" Gabriella said kissing Troy's lips.

"Mommy" Grace said.

Gabriella and Troy looked down and smiled. Gabriella kneeled down and Grace ran into her arms.

"I love you baby" Gabriella said.

"I love you too, mommy" Grace said.

Gabriella kissed Grace's head. She stood up and took her daughter's hand. Troy, Gabriella, Grace, and their families drove back to the couple's house to celebrate. That night, Troy walked into the bedroom and smiled when he saw Gabriella looking at her growing bump. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, cupping her bump in his hands. Troy kissed Gabriella's shoulder softly.

"Are you happy?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"So happy. I didn't think I had a chance at graduating, but I did. Thank you for believing in me" Gabriella said.

Troy shook his head.

"You believed in yourself. You made this happen, babe. You could have given up when you got your GED. But, you didn't. You kept going and pushing yourself to do better not only for you or me, but for Grace" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"Now that that is done, you can focus on this baby" Troy said putting his hand on Gabriella's stomach.

Gabriella nodded.

"When do you start school?" Gabriella asked.

"Next week. You will be on mommy duty" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"Couldn't think of anything better" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled. A week later, Troy was getting ready for his first day of school. He walked downstairs and saw Gabriella putting a bowl of cereal in front of Grace.

"I have to get going" Troy said.

"Alright. Grace, say goodbye to daddy" Gabriella said.

"No daddy. Don't go" Grace said as she started to cry.

Troy put his stuff down and lifted Grace into his arms. Grace wrapped her small arms around her father's neck. Troy felt his daughter's tears staining his shirt.

"Sweetheart, I will be gone for a little while okay? Mommy will be here" Troy said.

Troy looked at Gabriella, who wiped a tear from her eyes.

"Don't go" Grace said.

"I have to baby. I promise you that I will be home before you go night night" Troy said.

"Grace, daddy has to go or he's going to be late. Come on baby" Gabriella said.

Gabriella successfully lifted Grace into her arms.

"Can I get a kiss?" Troy asked.

Grace kissed her father's lips sweetly.

"I love you" Troy said.

"I love you" Grace said.

Troy kissed Gabriella's lips softly.

"I'll be home before she goes down, but in case that I'm not, can you keep her up? I just want her to know that I did come home" Troy whispered in his wife's ear.

Gabriella nodded.

"Thanks" Troy said.

Troy left the house. That night, Troy unlocked the door and walked into the house and smiled when he saw a tear stained Grace snuggled next to Gabriella. Gabriella looked up and smiled.

"Grace, look who's home" Gabriella said.

Grace looked up and jumped off the couch and landed on her hands and feet. She got up quickly, ignoring the fall, and ran into Troy's arms. Troy caught his daughter in his arms.

"Hey cutie, did you have fun with mommy?" Troy asked.

Grace nodded. Troy lifted his daughter into his arms and wiped her tears away. He walked over to the couch and sat down with Grace in his arms.

"What did you do today?" Troy asked.

"Mama's house" Grace said simply.

"You went and saw mama and papa? That's fun" Troy said.

Grace nodded.

"What did you do at mama and papa's?" Troy asked.

"Played outside" Grace said.

"Did you have fun?" Troy asked.

"Yeah" Grace said.

Gabriella smiled. Grace's eyes started to look heavy.

"I'm going to bring you upstairs and put you in bed okay?" Troy said.

Grace just nodded incoherently. Troy stood up carefully and walked upstairs and went into Grace's bedroom. He placed his daughter in her bed and tucked her in. Troy kissed Grace's head softly.

"Good night baby. I love you" Troy said.

"Daddy?" Grace said.

"Yes sweetheart?" Troy asked.

"Will you be here when I wake up?" Grace asked.

That question pulled at Troy's heart. He was going to school and working which made him come home late. Troy didn't know how to explain that concept to a three-year-old.

"Yeah. I will be baby. Go to sleep now okay?" Troy said.

Grace closed her eyes and fell asleep. Troy walked quietly out of the room and went into the master bedroom. He looked at Gabriella, who was now in bed.

"How was school?" Gabriella asked.

"Exhausting. How was Grace duty?" Troy asked taking his shirt off.

"Fine. We had a tea party" Gabriella said.

"Tea party stealer. We used to do that all the time" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"She cried for you a couple times" Gabriella said.

Troy sighed.

"Did you tell her that I was coming home soon?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"She asked me if I was going to be here when she woke up in the morning? I feel like I'm abandoning her" Troy said.

Gabriella patted Troy's side of the bed. Troy got in bed and Gabriella snuggled into his chest.

"You aren't abandoning her, babe. She's just confused. One day mommy is gone. The next day daddy is gone. She will get used to it, eventually" Gabriella said.

"Now I understand how hard it was for you to leave" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"It will get a little easier with time" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"How are you feeling today?" Troy asked placing a hand on Gabriella's expanding stomach.

"A little tired and I have some cramps but, I'm alright" Gabriella said.

"Maybe watching Grace by yourself isn't a good idea, now that you are pregnant" Troy said.

"It's not a problem. I just have cramps today. I never have cramps" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"Where are these cramps?" Troy asked.

"My back" Gabriella said.

Troy started rubbing Gabriella's back gently, trying to soothe his wife's aching body. Gabriella moaned.

"Does that hurt?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded. Troy continued to rub Gabriella's back. Five minutes later, Troy stopped rubbing Gabriella's back.

"How do you feel baby?" Troy asked.

"Still hurts, but much less" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"That's good. Try and get some sleep okay?" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Troy leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips softly.

"Wake me up if they get worse okay?" Troy said.

"I will" Gabriella said.

"Night, baby. I love you" Troy said.

"I love you too" Gabriella said.

A couple weeks later was Grace's fourth birthday. Gabriella was getting the house ready for their families to come over and celebrate. She walked upstairs and poked her head into Grace's bedroom and saw her starting to wake up.

"Happy Birthday baby" Gabriella said.

"Mommy" Grace said sleepily.

"You are four years old today, Grace" Gabriella said.

Grace got out of her bed and held her arms out. Gabriella took Grace into her arms and hugged her as close as she could and kissed her head.

"Come on, let's go see daddy" Gabriella said standing up carefully with Grace still in her arms.

Gabriella walked into the master bedroom and smiled when she saw Troy sitting up.

"Happy Birthday sweetheart" Troy said.

Gabriella placed Grace on Troy's lap. Troy kissed Grace's head as she leaned against his chest.

"You are four years old today" Troy said obviously.

Grace held up four fingers. Troy smiled.

"Yeah, four fingers" Troy said.

"Everyone is coming over at one" Gabriella said.

"Okay" Troy said.

Gabriella got Grace ready for the day. A couple hours later, their families arrived and were talking with each other. Gabriella walked over to Troy and put her hand on his shoulder. He looked at her and smiled.

"My back is killing me. Can you hold down the fort for a little bit?" Gabriella asked as she put her hand on her back.

Troy motioned to the stairs. The couple walked upstairs and went into their bedroom.

"You've been standing for a long time" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"It's just my back that hurts. Nothing else" Gabriella said.

"You sure?" Troy asked.

"Yes. I'll be down in a little while. I just need a break" Gabriella said.

"Alright sweetheart. Call me if you need anything" Troy said.

"Don't tell Grace I'm up here if she asks where I am" Gabriella said.

"What do you want me to tell her?" Troy asked.

"Just tell her that I'm in the bathroom" Gabriella said.

"Okay" Troy said.

Troy closed the bedroom door behind him and walked downstairs. An hour later, Gabriella came downstairs with her hand on her back. Troy furrowed his eyebrows and tried to figure out what was going on. Gabriella walked over to her husband and looked at him. Troy smiled and put his hand on the small of her back.

"You okay?" Troy whispered into his wife's ear.

"I'm bleeding" Gabriella said.

Troy looked at Gabriella. His eyes widened. He looked at their families and then back at Gabriella.

"Alright, go to the car. I'll tell mom what's going on" Troy said.

Gabriella walked out of the house and went to the car and got in and waited for Troy. A couple minutes later, Troy walked out of the house and got into the car.

"Are you alright?" Troy asked.

"I had to pee and when I pulled down my pants there was blood on them" Gabriella explained.

Troy nodded.

"Okay. But, are you feeling okay?" Troy asked.

"I'm just worried" Gabriella said.

"We will figure this out, sweetheart. Don't worry" Troy said.

Troy arrived at the hospital and Gabriella was escorted to a room. An hour later, Gabriella was settled in a hospital bed. Troy walked into the hospital room and smiled sympathetically.

"How are you doing Brie?" Troy asked sitting on a chair that was next to the bed.

"I'm really worried. What if I had a miscarriage?" Gabriella asked.

Troy shook his head.

"You passed that point, baby. There is no way" Troy said.

There was a knock on the door and Dr. Brand came into the room.

"Hi guys, what's going on?" Dr. Brand asked.

"I was going to go to the bathroom and I pulled down pants and underwear and I saw blood" Gabriella said shakily.

"Okay, okay. Gabriella, take a deep breath for me" Dr. Brand said.

Gabriella took a deep breath and tears ran down her cheeks. She released the breath she was holding.

"Again. Breathe in and out" Dr. Brand said.

Troy helped Gabriella by taking deep breaths with her. Gabriella took a deep breath and released it. Dr. Brand tried to help Gabriella not hyperventilate because the baby could go into distress from the lack of oxygen.

"Alright, first thing's first. Did you have sex before this happened?" Dr. Brand said.

"No" Gabriella said shaking her head.

"Okay. Let me take a look" Dr. Brand said.

Gabriella nodded and spread her legs apart. Troy took Gabriella's hand in hers. More tears ran down Gabriella's face.

"Take a deep breath for me, Gabi" Dr. Brand said.

Gabriella took a deep breath and looked at her husband. Troy smoothed back Gabriella's hair with his free hand and placed a kiss on her forehead. A couple moments later, Dr. Brand looked up.

"You didn't have a miscarriage, Gabi. The bleeding is just spotting. It's completely normal" Dr. Brand said.

"I never had spotting with Grace" Gabriella said.

Dr. Brand nodded.

"It's normal. Let me take a look at the baby and just see for sure" Dr. Brand said.

Gabriella nodded. Dr. Brand turned on the ultrasound and waited for it to heat up. A couple minutes later, Dr. Brand pulled up Gabriella's gown and squeezed some gel onto her expanding bump. She then took a wand and moved the gel around Gabriella's stomach. Dr. Brand looked at the monitor and moved the wand and smiled.

"There's your baby. He or she looks perfect. No miscarriage or anything like that" Dr. Brand said.

The couple nodded.

"I'll sign the discharge papers and get you out of here as soon as possible" Dr. Brand said.

Dr. Brand left the room. Gabriella leaned her head back against the pillows. She didn't say a word. Troy looked at his wife and saw her shoulder's shake. He knew that she was crying. Troy sat on the edge of the hospital bed and took Gabriella's hand in his own.

"Sweetheart, it was a legitimate thought. This isn't your fault" Troy said.

"I have never been so scared in my life" Gabriella said.

"I know. But, you didn't miscarry and there isn't anything wrong with the baby" Troy said.

"I want to go home" Gabriella said.

"I know you do sweetheart. We just have to wait until the papers are signed and then we can go home okay?" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Troy kissed Gabriella's cheek.

"I love you" Troy said.

"I love you too" Gabriella said.

An hour later, Gabriella was discharged from the hospital. The couple drove home and walked into the house and their parents stood up and looked at them. Gabriella walked upstairs, ignoring their parents. Troy made sure Gabriella was in their bedroom before he said anything.

"What happened Troy?" Maria asked.

"She was bleeding. She thought it was a miscarriage, but it wasn't. It was just spotting. She's freaked out and wants to be alone right now" Troy said.

"Should we get out of your hair?" Lucille asked.

"I think it would be best. Where's Grace?" Troy asked.

"We put her down already" Maria said.

Troy looked at the clock and hadn't realized that it was past Grace's bedtime.

"Thank you so much" Troy said.

"No problem" their parents said.

The two sets of parents left the house. Troy saw that their families had cleaned up the living room and kitchen. He smiled. Troy walked upstairs and went into Grace's room. He leaned down and kissed her head softly. Grace opened her eyes.

"Daddy?" Grace asked.

"Yeah, it's me honey" Troy said smoothing her hair back.

"Where's mommy?" Grace asked.

"She's in our room. Do you want to go see her?" Troy asked.

Grace nodded. Troy picked Grace up and set her on his hip. He walked out of the room and went into the master bedroom. Gabriella was sitting up in bed. She looked up and smiled.

"I'm sorry if I scared you, Grace" Gabriella said.

"Go give mommy a kiss" Troy said setting his daughter on the bed.

Grace crawled over to her mother and sat next to her. Gabriella kissed Grace's cheek.

"Mama said you went to the doctor" Grace said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I did. But, you don't need to worry about me okay?" Gabriella said putting her hand on Grace's cheek.

"Is the baby okay?" Grace asked sweetly.

Gabriella smiled and kissed her daughter's cheek. Grace reminded Gabriella of herself in so many ways.

"The baby is fine. It's way past your bedtime. Daddy is going to bring you back to bed okay?" Gabriella said.

Grace nodded.

"Give me a kiss" Gabriella said.

Grace kissed Gabriella's lips.

"I love you" Gabriella said.

"I love you" Grace said.

Grace got off the bed and Troy held out his hand. Grace took it and the father daughter duo left the room. Five minutes later, Troy came back into the room.

"You okay?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded. Troy took his shirt off and changed into a pair of basketball shorts. He climbed into bed and Gabriella snuggled into his chest. Troy put his hand on Gabriella's stomach. The couple fell asleep and knew that everything was going to be fine.


	7. Welcome To The World

A couple weeks later, Troy came home from school and smiled when he saw Grace sitting at the kitchen table, drawing. He walked up to her and sat down next to his daughter.

"What are you drawing baby?" Troy asked.

"I don't know yet. It's a surprise, daddy" Grace said.

Troy smiled.

"A surprise?" Troy asked.

"Yeah" Grace said.

Troy smiled and kissed Grace's cheek.

"Where's mommy?" Troy asked.

"Potty" Grace said.

"Okay" Troy said.

Troy walked upstairs and smiled when he came face to face with Gabriella, who was walking down stairs.

"Hey beautiful. How are you feeling?" Troy asked kissing Gabriella's lips.

"Crampy" Gabriella said tiredly.

"Did you take a nap today?" Troy asked.

"No. I've been celebrating with Grace" Gabriella said.

"Celebrating? What are we celebrating?" Troy asked.

"She used the toilet today. She told me that she needed to go and she went in the toilet" Gabriella said.

Troy's face broke into a proud smile.

"Did you see her on your way in?" Gabriella asked.

"I did, but she didn't say anything" Troy said as they walked down the stairs.

"Well, go talk to her" Gabriella said motioning to the kitchen.

Troy smiled and nodded. He walked back into the kitchen and sat in his previous spot.

"How's the drawing coming?" Troy asked.

"Good" Grace said.

"I heard that you used the potty today" Troy said.

Grace put her crayon that she was using down and nodded excitedly. Troy smiled and lifted his daughter into his arms.

"I'm so proud of you, Grace" Troy said.

Grace smiled and giggled.

"You are going to have to show the baby how to use the potty too" Troy said.

Grace nodded.

"I will daddy" Grace said.

Troy smiled and kissed Grace's cheek. Gabriella walked into the room and smiled.

"Mommy" Grace said.

"Did you tell daddy what happened?" Gabriella asked.

"Yes" Grace said.

Gabriella smiled.

"She's growing up so fast" Gabriella said as she watched Grace leave the kitchen.

Troy smiled. He wrapped his arms around his wife and kissed her cheek.

"Yeah, which is a good thing. We did good, Brie. It was hard, but we did it" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Now, when this one comes into the world, we will know what to do" Troy said putting his hand on Gabriella's bump.

Gabriella nodded.

"I think that I will be more scared to have this one" Gabriella said.

"Why?" Troy asked moving a stray hair away from his wife's face.

"Because now that we've been through it once, we know what kind of things can happen and what will happen" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"Knowing what you know now, scares you to have this baby?" Troy clarified.

Gabriella nodded.

"We had our parents to teach us everything with Grace. This baby will be our first, as adults. We were kids when we got pregnant with Grace" Gabriella said.

"Yeah, I get it" Troy said.

"Like for example, I never had spotting when I was pregnant with Grace and with this baby, I did. We handled it ourselves, like adults" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"I understand sweetheart. I do. You aren't going through it alone either. I'm still here" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled and nodded. She wrapped her arms around her husband's neck and kissed his cheek and sighed.

"I know. I love you" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled and kissed her nose.

"I love you too" Troy said.

"Mommy! I need to go potty" Grace said.

Gabriella let go of Troy and smiled.

"She will always be my baby" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"I know" Troy said.

Gabriella walked out of the room. A couple weeks later, Gabriella was six and a half months pregnant and exhausted. One night, Troy came home from work and smiled when he saw that Gabriella was already asleep. He looked in Grace's room and saw that she was not in her bed. Troy went back into the master bedroom and kissed Gabriella's cheek softly. Gabriella opened her eyes slowly and moaned.

"Where's Grace?" Troy asked softly.

"She's at mom's" Gabriella said sleepily.

Troy nodded.

"Feeling okay?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"I just needed a break" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. He ran his fingers through his wife's hair.

"Did you eat?" Troy asked.

"Yeah, dinner is in the refrigerator" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. He walked downstairs to the kitchen and went to the refrigerator and pulled out a plate that had his name on it. Troy closed the refrigerator and saw something that made his jaw drop. On the refrigerator was a picture, that was made by Grace. It was a picture of the three of them and a figure that he assumed was their unborn child. At the bottom, there was a note, written in Gabriella's neat handwriting.

 _Congratulations, daddy! You can begin to start your own basketball team_

 _Xoxo_

 _Troy Jr._

 _PS. There is a gift on the counter from me. Can't wait to meet you_

Troy was beaming. Tears ran down his cheeks. He looked at the counter and saw a box that had a bow on it. Troy looked at it curiously and opened it. He smiled and chuckled when he pulled out an infant size, custom made wildcats jersey with the number fourteen and Bolton on the back. Troy took a deep breath and tried to collect himself. He couldn't believe they were going to have a baby boy. Troy heated his plate and ate. He then walked upstairs, bringing the box and note with him. Troy walked into the bedroom. Gabriella was sitting up in bed and smiled when she saw her husband holding the box.

"You didn't tell me you had an appointment today" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"I wanted to surprise you" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled. He leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips and placed his hand on her growing bump.

"How did you get this done so fast?" Troy asked looking at the infant jersey.

"I had an appointment last week actually. I wanted to have time to figure out how to tell you and get the jersey done" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"This is amazing, babe" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"Are you happy?" Gabriella asked.

"Of course I am. We are having a baby boy. What did Dr. Brand say? Anything that I need to know about?" Troy asked.

"She said that he's growing on schedule. His head is big. Wanted to know what our plan was for the birth" Gabriella said.

"We need to talk about that" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I want to have it all planned out" Gabriella said.

"I agree. What do you want to do?" Troy asked.

"I don't want to have him like I had Grace. I want him to be born on a hospital bed. I don't want an epidural" Gabriella said.

"Okay" Troy said.

"Okay" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled. Three months later, Gabriella woke up in the middle of the night to pain in her stomach. She got out of bed and went downstairs. Gabriella walked around the living room and felt the pain again. This went on for forty-five minutes until Troy walked downstairs.

"Brie?" Troy called.

"Living room" Gabriella said.

Troy walked into the living room and saw Gabriella with one hand on her back and one on her bump.

"What's going on?" Troy asked.

"I think I'm in labor" Gabriella said.

"You think?" Troy asked.

"Troy, just time the contractions please" Gabriella said painfully.

"Alright baby. Just breathe okay?" Troy said taking his phone out and starting to time the contraction.

Troy smoothed Gabriella's hair back and kissed her head softly.

"Everything's alright. Just breathe" Troy said.

"I don't know if this is labor or if it's just a random contraction-" Gabriella started.

"Hey, just relax okay? We will figure this out. But for right now, you need to breathe through it" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. She breathed through the contraction and relaxed.

"I just am scared" Gabriella said softly.

"I know you are babe. But, we need to figure out if you are in labor" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Ten minutes later, Gabriella groaned.

"Contraction?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded and started breathing through it. Troy started timing it. He then rubbed Gabriella's lower back in soothing circles.

"I don't want to wake Grace up" Gabriella said painfully.

"Don't worry about that right now" Troy said.

Gabriella breathed through the contraction and then relaxed.

"Alright. So that's two and they are ten minutes apart. Should I call?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"They are going to tell you to wait until my water breaks" Gabriella said.

"Okay. But, we can find out for sure if we call. I have it under control, Brie" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Troy called Dr. Brand, who told him exactly what Gabriella had said. He finished talking to Dr. Brand and turned his attention back to Gabriella.

"What did she say?" Gabriella asked.

"She said to wait until your water breaks" Troy said.

"You see, I was right. I think I am going to take a bath" Gabriella said.

"I'll come with you. Just in case" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. The couple went upstairs to the bathroom. Troy turned on the water and waited until the tub filled up. He then helped Gabriella get into the tub. Gabriella instantly relaxed when she felt the warm water hit her skin.

"Troy, I need your hand" Gabriella said.

Troy gave Gabriella his hand and watched her breathe through the contraction. He wasn't scared. He was trying to figure out what he could do to help her feel as comfortable as she could.

"Do you need anything?" Troy asked.

Gabriella shook her head. Grace poked her head into the bathroom.

"Mommy's taking a bath?" Grace asked.

Troy looked at Grace and smiled sympathetically. He picked Grace up and set her on his lap.

"Yeah, sweetheart. Mommy is taking a bath. Did you have a bad dream?" Troy asked his daughter.

Grace shook her head.

"I'm going to take you back to bed okay?" Troy said.

"What's wrong with mommy?" Grace asked.

"Nothing. She's okay, Grace" Troy said.

"Give me a kiss, baby" Gabriella said.

Grace kissed her mother. Troy lifted Grace into his arms and walked out of the bathroom and into Grace's room. He placed her in her bed and tucked her in.

"Go to sleep sweetheart" Troy said kissing his daughter's forehead.

Troy walked out of the room and into the bathroom. He sat down and Gabriella took his hand. She breathed through the contraction and Troy rubbed her back soothingly.

"You are doing great, babe. Keep breathing" Troy said.

Once the contraction ended, Gabriella looked at her husband.

"How are we going to know if my water broke if I am in here?" Gabriella asked.

"I don't know. Do you want to get out?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"I just want to go to the hospital" Gabriella said.

"I know you do. We have to wait" Troy said.

Gabriella sighed.

"Come on, I'll help you get out" Troy said getting up and holding his hands out.

Gabriella took her husband's hands and felt him lift her up to a standing position. She kneeled down as soon as she got up and moaned.

"Troy" Gabriella cried.

"I'm here, baby girl. I'm here. Just breathe" Troy said.

Gabriella breathed through the contraction and then looked at Troy.

"Do you still want to get out?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"Alright, let's try it again" Troy said.

Troy helped Gabriella to a standing position and wrapped a towel around her and helped her out of the tub. Gabriella quickly changed into a pair of sweats and a t-shirt.

"Comfortable?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded. Troy took Gabriella's hand in his and entwined their fingers together. With his free hand, he moved a stray hair away from his wife's face and kissed her forehead. Gabriella wrapped her free arm around Troy's neck and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and groaned.

"You are doing so well, sweetheart" Troy said rubbing her back.

Gabriella breathed through the contraction and sighed.

"Do you want to get back in bed? You will probably feel a little better" Troy said.

"Stay with me" Gabriella said.

"I'm not going anywhere. Don't worry" Troy said.

The couple walked into their bedroom and got back into bed. Gabriella snuggled into Troy's chest. Troy wrapped one arm around Gabriella and had the other resting on her bump.

"Feeling okay?" Troy asked.

"I'm tired already" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled and kissed her head softly.

"I know baby. Why don't you try and get some sleep?" Troy asked.

"The contractions are every ten minutes. I don't think I will get very much" Gabriella said.

"Try. For me, please?" Troy asked.

"I'll try" Gabriella said.

"Alright" Troy said.

Gabriella closed her eyes and like she predicted every ten minutes she woke up with a contraction. Two hours later, Troy woke up and smiled when he saw Gabriella going in and out of sleep.

"Baby, are you okay?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"This is taking longer than it did for my water to break than last time" Gabriella said.

"Did you get some sleep?" Troy asked.

"A little. The contractions are like five minutes apart" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. Gabriella got out of bed and gasped when she felt liquid running down her leg.

"Water?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded nervously.

"Okay, let's call mom and get her to come over and watch Grace" Troy said.

Troy called his mother, who came over immediately. The couple drove to the hospital and Gabriella was admitted and got settled in a hospital room.

"Troy, hold my hand please" Gabriella said.

"I got you. Don't worry" Troy said smoothing Gabriella's hair back.

"He's early" Gabriella said.

"I know" Troy said.

"I hope he's okay" Gabriella said.

"He is. He's just anxious to see his mommy's face" Troy said.

Gabriella giggled but then groaned.

"Just relax. Breathe through it" Troy said entwining his fingers with Gabriella's shaking ones.

Gabriella breathed through the contraction and then relaxed. Troy kissed Gabriella's forehead softly.

"You are doing so well, babe. Better than I could have done" Troy said.

"You wouldn't last a minute in labor" Gabriella said.

"That's probably true. You nervous?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded. Tears formed in her eyes and she looked at her husband.

"I'll be here. If you need mom, we can call her too" Troy said trying to reassure her.

"I think I'm scared because I know what's going to happen" Gabriella said as tears fell from her eyes.

"I know. But like I said, if you need mom, I can call her" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I don't think I need her. I just need you here" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled slightly.

"Okay" Troy said wiping her tears away.

Gabriella tightened her grip on Troy and started breathing through a contraction. Hours passed and Gabriella's contractions got closer and closer together. Troy was lying on one side of the bed, rubbing his wife's back. Labor was much more intense than it was when they had Grace.

"It hurts" Gabriella cried.

"I know sweetheart. You are so close" Troy said wiping her sweaty brow with a cold washcloth.

There was a knock on the door and Dr. Brand came into the room.

"Gabi, how are you feeling?" Dr. Brand asked.

"A lot of pain" Gabriella said.

"She's refusing to get an epidural" Troy said before Dr. Brand asked.

"Concentrate on your breathing. Can I check you?" Dr. Brand asked.

Gabriella nodded with tears running down her face. Troy and Dr. Brand moved Gabriella's legs apart. Dr. Brand checked Gabriella and smiled.

"You are at seven. You are almost there" Dr. Brand said.

"Why is it taking so long?" Gabriella asked.

"Baby, it takes time. You are in a lot more pain than you were with Grace" Troy said.

"Troy's right, Gabi. I'll come and check on you in a little bit" Dr. Brand said.

The couple nodded. Dr. Brand left the room. Troy looked down at his wife and wiped her tears away.

"Don't cry baby. You are doing so well" Troy said.

"It hurts so bad" Gabriella said.

"I know. But, you are going through it like a champ" Troy said smoothing her hair back.

A couple hours later, Gabriella was leaning against the side of the bed. Her face was dark red, tears were running down her face, and her body shaking from the pain that she was in.

"Come on baby, just a little more" Troy said.

Gabriella had been pushing for the last hour.

"I can't do it" Gabriella cried.

"Take a break, honey. You are doing so well" Dr. Brand said.

Troy and the nurse that had been with them throughout Gabriella's labor released her legs that they were holding. Gabriella closed her eyes and took a shaky breath. Troy kissed Gabriella's sweaty forehead and put some ice chips into her mouth.

"You are doing so good, Brie. I can almost see his head" Troy said.

"I'm so tired" Gabriella said breathlessly.

"I know. But you are almost done. Just a few more pushes and he will be out" Troy said.

"That's what you all said an hour ago. I've been doing this for an hour" Gabriella said.

"I know. But, he's almost here" Troy said.

"I want a c-section. I want this to be over" Gabriella said.

"Brie, listen to me. You can do this. You don't need a c-section and I know that you would kill me if I let you go through with one. I know you are tired and I know that you just want to sleep, baby. I know. You need to push to get him out and then it will be over" Troy said.

"It hurts" Gabriella said as tears ran down her cheeks.

"I know it does. But you got to put the pain that you are feeling aside, and focus on him" Troy said putting his hand on Gabriella's cheek.

Gabriella swallowed hard and closed her eyes.

"I need to push" Gabriella said.

"Then push" Troy said simply.

Troy, the nurse, and Dr. Brand got back into their previous positions. Gabriella took a deep breath and pushed. She pushed and didn't care what anyone was saying to her to help. Once the contraction ended, she fell back against the bed.

"That was a good one, Gabi. A couple more of those and he will be out" Dr. Brand said.

"I want to go again" Gabriella said breathlessly.

"Calm your breathing down first" Troy said gently.

Gabriella took a deep breath and released it. She took another one and then bared down again.

"Good, Gabi. That's a good one" Dr. Brand said.

After the contraction ended, Gabriella fell back against the bed.

"Here, give me your hand" Dr. Brand said.

Gabriella held her hand out and Dr. Brand took it. She felt something slimy on her hand.

"Feel that?" Dr. Brand asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"That's your baby's head. You need two good pushes until the head is out" Dr. Brand said.

Troy looked at his exhausted wife. He put a cup of water in front of her mouth and she gratefully sipped it. Once she had finished, Gabriella looked at Troy.

"Two more pushes and his head will be out babe" Troy repeated.

Gabriella took a deep breath and pushed hard. She let out a high pitched scream. Troy kissed Gabriella's head softly and rubbed her back. She fell back against the bed and Dr. Brand looked at Gabriella and smiled.

"One more until the head's out" Dr. Brand said.

Gabriella took a deep breath and pushed until her face turned dark red.

"Head's out, Gabi. Good work" Dr. Brand said.

Gabriella looked at Troy tiredly.

"I'm so tired" Gabriella said.

"I know baby, I know. Now that his head's out, he will be out soon" Troy said.

"I need to push" Gabriella said.

"Do it, sweetheart" Troy said.

Gabriella pushed and felt the baby leave her body. Dr. Brand placed the baby onto Gabriella's chest. Gabriella started crying.

"Oh my god" Gabriella said whispered in shock.

Troy kissed Gabriella's lips softly.

"I'm so proud of you Brie" Troy said.

Gabriella looked at Troy and placed one of her hands on the side of his face.

"I love you" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled and placed his hand on top of Gabriella's.

"I love you too" Troy said.

The couple turned their attention to a now crying newborn that was on Gabriella's chest.

"Welcome to the world, baby" Gabriella said.


	8. I Want To Hold Your Hand

Troy cut the cord and Gabriella looked down at her newborn son and tears ran down her face. A nurse carried the newborn to the other side of the hospital room to be assessed by a pediatrician. Troy smoothed back Gabriella's sweaty hair and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"You did so good, baby" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled tiredly.

"I'm so tired" Gabriella said.

"After we figure out his name and hold him for a little bit, you can get some sleep" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. The nurse came back with their son, who was now clean and wrapped in a blue blanket. She placed him into Gabriella's arms.

"Congratulations" the nurse said.

"Thank you" Gabriella said.

Gabriella looked at her son and smiled. She kissed his forehead softly.

"I can't believe you are finally here, baby. Your sister is going to be so happy" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled. Dr. Brand smiled as she observed the couple with their newborn.

"Gabi, you need to push one last time to deliver the placenta" Dr. Brand said.

Gabriella took a deep breath and pushed. She groaned as she felt the soreness of just giving birth kick in.

"Great. I'll be back in a little while to check in. Congratulations, guys" Dr. Brand said.

The couple smiled.

"Thank you" the couple said simultaneously.

The nurses and Dr. Brand left the room. Gabriella looked at her son and smiled.

"What are we going to name him?" Gabriella asked.

"Not Troy Jr" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled and giggled.

"I like Mason" Gabriella said.

"Where did you get that one from?" Troy asked.

"I just thought of it. You don't like it?" Gabriella asked.

"I don't think it would fit well with Bolton. What about Logan?" Troy asked.

"I like it. Logan Bolton" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"So, then we have Logan Bolton" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"Should I call mom and let her know that he's here?" Troy asked.

"If you want to" Gabriella said.

Troy left the room and called his mother. He walked back into the room and smiled.

"She says congratulations and she also told me that she was going to tell your mom" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Tired?" Troy asked.

"Extremely. Do you want to hold him? I think I'm going to go to sleep" Gabriella said.

"Okay sweetheart" Troy said.

Gabriella leaned over and kissed Troy's lips softly.

"You did so good, baby. I'm seriously so proud of you" Troy said.

Gabriella blushed.

"Thanks. I couldn't have done it without you" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled. He leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips again.

"Alright. Get some sleep. I'll make sure that he's okay" Troy said.

Gabriella placed Logan into Troy's arms. Gabriella fell asleep. A couple hours later, there was a knock on the door. Troy walked over to the door and was met by Grace.

"Hi baby" Troy said as he lifted Grace into his arms.

"Where's the baby?" Grace asked her father.

Troy smiled.

"He's with mommy. Do you want to meet him?" Troy asked.

Grace nodded. Troy turned around and walked to the bed. Gabriella looked at her daughter and smiled.

"Do you want to meet your baby brother, Grace?" Gabriella asked.

Grace nodded. Gabriella smiled. Troy placed Grace on the hospital bed, next to her mother. Grace leaned her head against Gabriella's arm and looked at Logan, who was being held by Gabriella.

"Grace, meet your baby brother, Logan" Gabriella said.

"He's so tiny, mommy" Grace said.

"He's a baby. He's going to be tiny" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled as he watched the interaction between the two girls.

"Can I touch him?" Grace asked.

"Do you want to hold him baby? I can help you" Troy said.

Grace nodded.

"Okay. Come on" Troy said.

Troy lifted Grace off the bed and sat in the chair that was next to it, with Grace on his lap. Gabriella placed Logan into Lucille's arms, and after being kissed by his grandmother, was put into Troy and Grace's arms. Grace looked down at her baby brother.

"He has a nose" Grace said.

Troy smiled.

"Yeah, he has a nose and eyes and toes. Just like you" Troy said.

"Why doesn't he open his eyes?" Grace asked.

"He's a baby, sweetheart. He's too little to open them still. But, in a couple days he will" Gabriella said.

"Oh" Grace said.

"What do you think Grace?" Troy asked.

"He's cute" Grace said.

The couple smiled.

"You know Grace, daddy and I are going to need some help with taking care of baby Logan. Can you help us out?" Gabriella asked.

Grace nodded excitedly. Troy laughed.

"Can I give him a kiss?" Grace asked.

"Yeah, but be very gentle" Gabriella said.

Grace kissed her brother's head softly and smiled. The couple smiled.

"You are his big sister. You are going to have to teach him how to do things" Troy said.

"Like what?" Grace asked.

"Like how you go up and down the stairs, how you brush your teeth, things like that" Gabriella said.

"I will" Grace said.

"What do you think mom?" Troy asked looking at his mother.

"He looks just like Troy" Lucille said.

Troy smiled.

"I think he has Gabriella's mouth and nose" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"The face shape is definitely yours" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled and nodded.

"Are you getting discharged today?" Lucille asked.

"Tomorrow. I'm really sore and Dr. Brand wants to keep me for another night" Gabriella said.

"Alright. Get some rest. Both of you. Grace, let's let mommy and daddy take a nap and we will go home okay?" Lucille said.

"Bye baby. I love you" Gabriella said kissing her daughter.

"I don't want to go" Grace said.

Gabriella looked at Troy sympathetically and then back at Grace.

"Sweetheart, you are going to have so much fun at mama and papa's. All we are going to do here is go night night. That's all and then we will be home tomorrow" Gabriella said.

Grace hugged her mother. Gabriella kissed Grace's cheek softly.

"Mama is going to take you home okay? I'll see you tomorrow. I love you Grace" Gabriella said.

Troy lifted Grace into his arms.

"I'll walk down with you" Troy said to his mother.

Troy, Lucille, and Grace went down to the parking lot.

"Grace, I'll see you tomorrow okay?" Troy said.

"I want to stay" Grace cried.

"I know you do sweetheart. But, you can't. A hospital isn't a place for little girls" Troy said.

"But baby Logan is little" Grace said.

"Grace, baby Logan needs his doctor right now to make sure that's he's healthy and growing. Just like you. I'll come home and see you tomorrow okay?" Troy said.

"Come on sweetheart. Daddy has to go" Lucille said.

Grace looked at her father and grandmother skeptically.

"Can I have a kiss?" Troy asked.

Grace kissed Troy's lips.

"Thanks sweetie. Mommy, Logan, and I will be home tomorrow okay?" Troy said.

"Okay" Grace finally said.

Troy smiled.

"That's my girl. I love you. Be good for mama okay?" Troy said placing his daughter in her car seat.

"Okay" Grace said.

Troy closed the backseat door. He looked at his mother and smiled.

"I'll call you with an update later" Troy said.

"Alright" Lucille said.

Troy walked back into the hospital and went up to the labor and delivery floor. He walked into Gabriella's hospital room and smiled.

"Did they leave?" Gabriella asked.

"Yeah, they just left. How's the little man doing?" Troy asked sitting on the edge of the bed.

"He's fine. What did Grace say?" Gabriella asked.

"She wanted to stay with us but I told her that it wasn't a place for little girls like her" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled sympathetically.

"How are you feeling?" Troy asked as he kissed Gabriella's head softly.

"Fine. Less sore than earlier" Gabriella said.

"Good" Troy said.

The next day, Gabriella and Logan were released from the hospital. They arrived home and smiled when they saw pictures that had been drawn by Grace of their family including Logan.

"Hello?" Gabriella called as they walked into the house.

"Mommy!" Grace yelled as she ran into her mother's arms.

"Hi baby. Were you good for mama?" Gabriella asked.

"She was on her best behavior" Lucille said answering for Grace.

Gabriella and Troy smiled. Troy took Logan out of his car seat and lifted him into his arms.

"Mommy, can I hold baby brother?" Grace asked.

"Yeah. But daddy needs to help you" Gabriella said.

Troy sat down on the couch with Logan resting on his chest. Grace sat next to her father. Troy carefully placed Logan into Grace's arms, with his arms still holding onto the newborn just in case something happened. He watched Grace kiss Logan's head softly and smiled. Logan started to cry.

"Okay, Grace I think Logan needs to be with daddy" Troy said.

Grace started crying. Troy sighed and closed his eyes.

"Gabriella?" Troy called.

Gabriella came into the living room and frowned.

"What happened?" Gabriella asked.

"Can you take her upstairs? Just talk to her" Troy whispered into his wife's ear.

Gabriella nodded and walked over to her daughter and opened her arms. Grace walked into them and Gabriella lifted Grace and set her on her hip. Grace continued to cry as they walked upstairs. Gabriella walked into Grace's room and sat in the rocking chair that was next to the window.

"Don't cry, Grace. It's okay" Gabriella said rubbing her daughter's back.

"I wanted to hold him" Grace cried.

"I know you did. But, Logan is a baby, sweetheart. He needs to be with daddy or I most of the time because he's so little" Gabriella said.

Gabriella heard footsteps coming from the master bedroom. There was a knock on Grace's bedroom door. Troy poked his head in. Gabriella smiled sympathetically.

"Grace, come here" Troy said.

"Go to daddy" Gabriella said setting Grace down.

Grace walked over to her father, who kneeled down to her level.

"You didn't do anything wrong, sweetheart. Logan is just a baby and needs to be with daddy or mommy" Troy explained to the three-year-old.

Grace just looked at her father.

"He's crying" Grace said.

"Yeah, because he's a baby. Mommy and I have to hold him. When he's a little bigger, you can hold him too" Troy said.

"I want to hold him now too" Grace said.

"I know you do. But, mommy and I can help you hold him okay?" Troy said wiped the tears away that were falling from her eyes.

"I want to hold him by myself. I'm a big girl" Grace challenged.

"Grace, Logan is a baby. You don't want him to get hurt right?" Troy asked.

Grace shook her head.

"No. Mommy or daddy needs to help you. I know that you want to hold him by yourself. But, we need to make sure that he doesn't get hurt okay?" Troy said.

Grace was silent.

"Do you understand?" Troy asked.

Grace nodded slowly.

"Come here" Troy said softly.

Troy opened his arms and Grace walked into them. He kissed his daughter's head softly.

"I know that you aren't going to hurt him, but we need to be careful okay?" Troy said.

"Okay" Grace said.

"Do you want to hold baby Logan with my help?" Troy asked.

Grace nodded.

"Okay" Troy said.

Troy took Grace's hand and they walked into the master bedroom. Troy lifted Grace onto the bed and placed pillows around her, just in case she dropped Logan.

"I'll go get your brother" Troy said.

Troy left the room and came back with Logan in his arms. He sat down on the edge of the bed and placed Logan into Grace's arms, making sure she had him securely in her arms.

"Hold onto him" Troy said.

Grace looked down at her brother and smiled. Troy smiled as he observed his two children. He looked at the door and smiled when he saw Gabriella watching them. Logan whined.

"It's okay" Grace said softly.

Gabriella smiled.

"Don't cry" Grace continued.

Troy smiled.

"Why is he crying? I didn't do anything" Grace said.

Troy smiled sympathetically at his daughter.

"I know you didn't sweetheart. He's a baby. He's going to cry and whine. When you were a baby, you did that too" Troy said.

"I did?" Grace asked.

Troy smiled and nodded.

"You used to cry all night. Mommy and I would have to wake up and take care of you" Troy said.

"Why?" Grace asked.

"Because you were a baby. Babies cry a lot. Can I take baby Logan now?" Troy asked.

Grace nodded.

"Give him a kiss first" Troy said.

Grace kissed her brother's head gently. Troy smiled.

"Thank you for being so gentle, sweetheart" Troy said as he took Logan out of Grace's arms.

"Is he going to go night night?" Grace asked.

Troy nodded.

"Yeah, he's going to go night night" Troy said.

Troy stood up with Logan in his arms and walked out of the room and put Logan in his crib. A couple weeks later, Gabriella came home from work and smiled when she saw Troy holding Logan.

"Hey, how was your first day back?" Troy asked.

"It was alright. How was he?" Gabriella asked taking Logan out of Troy's arms.

"Mom said he was fine" Troy said.

"Did he just wake up?" Gabriella asked.

Troy nodded.

"Yeah" Troy said.

"Where's Grace?" Gabriella asked.

"Upstairs in her room on time out" Troy said.

Gabriella looked at Troy.

"What happened?" Gabriella asked.

"She got upset that I was paying attention to Logan. I told her to wait until I calmed Logan, who was crying, down. She got mad and started throwing toys. So I told her that she needs to go upstairs and sit in her room for a while" Troy explained.

Gabriella took a deep breath and released it.

"Do you want me to handle this or do you?" Gabriella asked.

"You can do it" Troy said.

"How long has she been up there?" Gabriella asked.

"Twenty minutes" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. She kissed Troy's lips softly and the kissed Logan's head. Gabriella then walked upstairs and saw that Grace's door was closed. She put her ear to the door and heard Grace crying. Gabriella opened the door and looked at her crying daughter.

"Mommy" Grace cried.

Gabriella sat down on the floor and opened her arms. Grace got off her bed and walked over to her mother and sat down on her lap.

"Grace, what happened?" Gabriella asked.

"I threw a toy" Grace said sniffling.

"Why did you throw the toy?" Gabriella asked.

"Because daddy was not listening to me" Grace said.

Gabriella adjusted Grace on her lap, so that she was looking directly at her.

"Grace, you don't throw things. You need to use your words remember?" Gabriella said.

Grace nodded and cried. Gabriella rubbed her daughter's back and kissed her head softly.

"If you had thrown the toy and it hit Logan, he could have gotten hurt and we don't want that right?" Gabriella said.

Grace nodded.

"Right. If daddy is busy, you need to wait for him to finish what he's doing okay?" Gabriella said.

Grace nodded.

"So no more throwing toys and you need to use your words" Gabriella said.

"Okay mommy" Grace said.

"Alright. Give me a kiss" Gabriella said.

Grace kissed her mother's lips.

"Now, you need to tell daddy you are sorry for throwing the toy okay?" Gabriella said.

"Okay" Grace said.

The two girls went downstairs.

"Troy?" Gabriella called.

"Living room" Troy said.

Gabriella and Grace walked into the living room.

"Grace has something that she needs to tell you" Gabriella said.

Troy looked at Grace, whose face was red from crying.

"I'm sorry I threw the toy" Grace said.

Troy smiled slightly. He opened his arms.

"Come here" Troy said.

Grace went over to Troy, who placed her on his lap.

"We don't throw things okay? You could have hurt Logan. If I am doing something sweetheart, you need to wait until I'm done okay?" Troy said.

Grace nodded. Troy smiled slightly. Grace hugged her father and Troy kissed Grace's head softly.

"I love you" Troy said.

"I love you" Grace said.

The couple knew that adjusting to a new baby was going to be tough for their relationship and for Grace, but they knew that they would be able to get through it together, as a family.


	9. Living The Dream

A couple days later, Troy came home from work and smiled when he saw Lucille in the kitchen with Grace.

"Hey, what's going on in here?' Troy asked.

"We're making cookies daddy!" Grace said excitedly.

"Ooh. That sounds yummy" Troy said kissing his daughter's head.

"Did Gabi call you?" Lucille asked.

"Yeah she did. Thank you for watching them" Troy said.

"I'm their grandma, it's my job. Logan is still taking his nap" Lucille said.

Troy nodded.

"What did you guys do today?" Troy asked.

"Played" Grace said.

"Yeah? What did you play?" Troy asked.

"Tea party" Grace said.

Troy smiled.

"Without me? I thought that was our game" Troy said feigning hurt.

"Daddy, you will always be my favorite guest" Grace said nonchalantly.

Troy laughed and lifted Grace into his arms.

"Good. Because you will always be mine" Troy said.

"How was school today?" Lucille asked.

"It was alright. I'm halfway done" Troy said.

"Any interest in the team there?" Lucille asked.

Troy shook his head.

"I need to be here. I made a choice" Troy said moving a stray hair out of Grace's face.

Lucille nodded.

"I would have wanted to, but I have two kids. I don't want to be away from them" Troy said.

Lucille nodded and kissed her son's cheek.

"These kids have the best dad, Troy" Lucille said.

Troy smiled.

"I don't know about the best. But, I try" Troy said.

Troy and Lucille talked for a little while longer until Lucille had to leave.

"When's mommy coming home?" Grace asked.

"She's going to be home in a little while. Do you want to try one of your cookies?" Troy asked.

"Yeah" Grace said.

Troy picked up a cookie from the counter and handed it to his daughter and watched her take a bite of it.

"Yummy?" Troy asked.

Grace nodded. Troy took a cookie for himself and the father daughter duo walked into the living room and sat down.

"Daddy?" Grace asked.

"Hmm?" Troy asked.

"Is mommy going to have another baby?" Grace asked.

Troy swallowed the rest of the cookie that he was eating and lifted Grace onto his lap, so that her head was leaning against his chest.

"What would make you think that?" Troy asked.

"I don't know" Grace said innocently.

"Did mommy talk to you about having another baby?" Troy asked.

"No" Grace said.

"Well, she's not. So don't worry about that okay?" Troy said.

Grace nodded. Troy smiled and kissed his daughter's head. Grace reminded Troy so much of Gabriella. She analyzed everything exactly like Gabriella and knew when something was happening or wrong. That night, the couple had put both Grace and Logan to bed. Gabriella and Troy walked into their bedroom and got into bed.

"What's going on in that head of yours?" Gabriella asked.

Troy smiled.

"A lot. Grace and I had a long talk earlier" Troy said.

"About what?" Gabriella asked.

"She asked me if you were going to have another baby. I was confused by her question because I have never brought that up. I asked her if you had said something and she said no" Troy explained.

"Wow" Gabriella said astonished by her daughter's question.

Troy nodded.

"I would like to have another baby maybe in a few years but not now" Gabriella said.

"You've thought about it?" Troy asked.

"Yeah, but we will see where we are at" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"Would you want to have another baby?" Gabriella asked.

"We are still young. The question is can we handle three kids?" Troy asked.

"That's the question" Gabriella said.

"We will see. Maybe Grace knows something that we don't" Troy said.

"Maybe. She's a smart girl" Gabriella said.

"She has her mommy's brain" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled. A couple weeks later, Troy came home from school and smiled when he saw Gabriella holding Logan, who was just falling asleep in Gabriella's arms.

"Hey" Troy said.

Gabriella looked up and smiled.

"Hi" Gabriella said.

"I can put him down if you want" Troy said.

"It's alright. I came home to him crying for me" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"He's definitely a mommy's boy" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"Well, Grace is a daddy's girl for sure. So we are even" Gabriella said.

"Why was he crying?" Troy asked.

"He was just hungry" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. He leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips softly.

"How was school?" Gabriella asked.

"Fine. The Red Hawk coach emailed me and wanted to talk to me about joining the team and I said that I couldn't" Troy said.

"Troy" Gabriella said.

"I can't and I don't want to. I need and want to be here" Troy said.

"Daddy!" Grace said.

Troy smiled and kneeled down and caught Grace in his arms as she ran into them. Gabriella knew that she had to talk to her husband about playing basketball again. That night, the couple had put the kids to bed. Gabriella came out of the bathroom and got into bed. She snuggled into Troy's chest.

"Babe, we need to discuss something" Gabriella said.

"What do we need to discuss?" Troy asked sitting up.

"I know that you have said no, but, I want you to think about playing basketball again" Gabriella said.

"Brie, I can't. I would regret missing things in Grace and Logan's life. I would be gone long hours, even days at a time. I don't want to do that to them or you. We made a choice to have sex. Yes, we did everything correctly, but we still got pregnant and had Grace and now we have Logan. We need to live with the consequences of that choice" Troy said.

"But we have help. My mom is- "Gabriella started.

"Brie, I'm their father. I am responsible for them. I'm not going to do it" Troy said.

Gabriella took a deep breath and released it. She turned over with her back facing Troy. Troy took a deep breath. He didn't want to argue about this situation. He wanted to play basketball, that wasn't the problem. Troy knew that he had to do the right thing and that was to stay with his family. He wrapped his arms around Gabriella and kissed her shoulder.

"I don't want to argue" Troy said softly.

Gabriella turned over and looked at Troy.

"I don't either. I don't want you to have to let go of the thing that you love because we got pregnant and had kids" Gabriella said.

"I understand. But, to me, I don't want to leave you home with the kids while I go and play. That's not fair to you or them" Troy explained.

"Troy" Gabriella started.

"Gabriella" Troy said.

"I want you to play" Gabriella said.

"I know you do and I want to. But, we have responsibilities. When you were pregnant with Grace, I told you that I was always going to be here. I'm going to keep that promise" Troy said.

"But, you can't protect us all the time, babe. You need time to do the things you love too" Gabriella said.

"I'm listening to you, Brie. I am. I just don't think it's right for me to do that" Troy said.

Gabriella sighed. Troy leaned in and kissed Gabriella's cheek softly.

"I know you are saying this because you love me and want to see me happy, but all I need is you, Grace, and Logan to be happy" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I love you so much that it would kill me to be away from you" Troy said.

"I love you too" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled slightly. He leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips softly.

"You won't regret it?" Gabriella asked.

Troy shook his head.

"I would regret not being here when you or the kids need me to be. I don't want to miss out on anything" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"But, to answer your original question, I want to have another baby. Just not yet" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded and smiled. Troy leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips again.

"Get some sleep okay?" Troy said.

"Okay" Gabriella said.

A couple weeks later, Troy was shooting hoops in the backyard. He had received a letter from the Red Hawk coach asking him again to join the team. Troy didn't want to think about it and he threw out the letter before Gabriella got home so she wouldn't see it. He was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard the back door open and close.

"What are you doing?" Gabriella asked.

"Thinking" Troy said.

"About what?" Gabriella asked sitting on the step next to the door.

"I got a letter today" Troy said as he stopped dribbling the ball.

"From?" Gabriella asked.

"Red Hawks" Troy said looking at her.

Gabriella nodded.

"What did they want?" Gabriella asked.

"They asked me to join the team again" Troy said.

Gabriella took a deep breath and released it.

"Are you okay?" Gabriella asked.

"Yeah, I just need to clear my head" Troy said.

Gabriella stood up and walked over to her husband and took the ball out of his hands. She threw it on the ground and then looked at Troy. Gabriella walked closer to Troy and wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned in and kissed his lips.

"I love you" Gabriella said.

"I love you too" Troy said.

"I want you to be happy, babe. I don't want you to regret this decision" Gabriella said.

"And I don't. I just need time to adjust. Especially since we are going to be planning this new baby soon" Troy said wrapping his arms around Gabriella's waist.

Gabriella smiled.

"In a couple years we will" Gabriella said.

"Yeah, but we don't know how long the contract would be. That's the problem" Troy said.

"Can you just meet with them and see what the criteria would be? It may be different than what you think" Gabriella said.

Troy looked at his wife and knew she wasn't going to end this conversation until he agreed to meet with the Red Hawks.

"Fine. I'll call them and see what the plan is. If I don't like it, then I won't sign" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"Thank you baby. This is a good thing" Gabriella said kissing his cheek.

A week later, Troy came home his meeting with the Red Hawk coach.

"Brie?" Troy called.

Grace came running into the living room and Troy caught her.

"Hey, where's mommy?" Troy asked.

"With Logan" Grace said.

"Doing what?" Troy asked as he lifted Grace onto his hip.

"Changing diaper" Grace said.

"Okay" Troy said.

A couple minutes later, Gabriella came downstairs with Logan.

"You're home" Gabriella said stating the obvious.

"Yeah" Troy said.

"How did it go?" Gabriella asked.

"They were cool. They asked me a couple questions. They asked if I was seeing someone. I said actually I'm married and have two kids" Troy said.

"What did they say to that?" Gabriella asked.

"They seemed fine with it. They asked me their ages and stuff like that. They asked me if it would affect away games" Troy said.

"What did you say to that?" Gabriella asked.

"I told them that it wouldn't unless it's out of state" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"So did you tell them yes?" Gabriella asked.

"I said that I had to talk to you first before I gave them an answer" Troy said.

"Okay. When do they need to know by?" Gabriella asked.

"Next week" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I want you to do it" Gabriella said.

"Are you sure?" Troy asked.

Gabriella smiled slightly.

"This is what you have worked so hard for, Troy. It's your dream. We have our families to help out with the kids if needed" Gabriella said.

Troy looked down and started thinking,

"I just don't want to miss out on anything" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"And you won't. We have phones and computers. If you are at an away game, we can use that and you can talk to Grace and Logan. When you aren't at an away game, you will be home" Gabriella said.

Troy took a deep breath and released it.

"I just want to make the right decision" Troy said.

"I know you do and you will make the right decision, babe. You just have to put yourself first sometimes. We had a baby and then another one and then got married. You didn't get to really live your dream the way that you wanted to. This might be your chance to do that and I don't want to get in the way of that" Gabriella said.

Troy put his hand on the right side of Gabriella's face. She put her hand on top of his.

"Don't ever think that you are getting in the way of my dream, Gabriella. You are my dream. Sometimes I still have to pinch myself to make sure that I'm awake because I'm so lucky to have you as my wife and the mother of my children. The fact that you are telling me to do this shows how much you love me and that you want me to be happy. That makes me want to do this. You will never be in the way of anything that I'm doing" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. She wrapped her arms around her husband and leaned her head against his shoulder. Troy placed his hand on the small of Gabriella's back.

"I love you" Troy said.

"I love you too" Gabriella said.

"So I will call them tomorrow and tell them my answer" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Two weeks later, Troy closed his suitcase and carried it downstairs. Grace looked at her father, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Where are you going daddy?" Grace asked.

Troy smiled and kneeled down in front of her.

"I'm going to school. Remember how mommy and I told you that I was going to go play basketball?" Troy asked as Grace walked into his arms.

"Yeah" Grace said.

Troy lifted Grace onto his hip and smiled.

"Well, I am going to go play a little bit and talk to some people about playing. I'll be back before you know it" Troy said.

"You aren't going to be here at night?" Grace asked.

Troy smiled sympathetically.

"No baby. But mommy and grandma will be. You are going to have so much fun" Troy said.

Gabriella was in the kitchen and smiled when she started to overhear what Troy and Grace were talking about.

"Mommy and grandma will be here and then you will come home?" Grace asked.

Troy had never gone away on a trip or for a night since Grace had been born. He was trying to figure out a way to help his daughter understand what was happening.

"In a couple of days I will be home" Troy said.

Grace started to cry. Troy rubbed his daughter's back and whispered soothing things into her ear.

"Grace, look at me" Troy said.

Grace looked at her father with tears in her eyes.

"You have to help mommy and grandma with Logan okay? You have to be a big girl" Troy said.

"I will miss you" Grace said.

Troy smiled and kissed Grace's cheek.

"I will miss you too sweetheart. We can't cry okay?" Troy said.

Grace nodded.

"I love you" Troy said.

"I love you" Grace said.

Troy smiled.

"Kiss" Troy said.

Grace kissed Troy's lips.

"Thank you" Troy said.

Troy got his things together and walked to the front door. He looked out the window and saw that the car that was supposed to bring him to the airport had arrived.

"Babe, the car is here" Troy said.

Gabriella walked to the front door with Grace walking next to her. Troy leaned down and kissed Logan's head softly.

"Bye buddy. Keep an eye on the girls for me. I love you" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled. Troy turned to Grace and opened his arms and watched her run into them.

"Help mommy out while I'm gone okay?" Troy said.

Grace nodded. Troy kissed Grace's head softly. He stood up and looked at Gabriella, who had silent tears running down her face. Troy walked over to Gabriella and wiped her tears away. Gabriella wrapped her arms around her husband.

"Let me know your schedule when you find out okay?" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"I love you Gabriella" Troy said cupping her face in the palm of his hand.

Gabriella put her hand on top of Troy's.

"I love you too" Gabriella said.

"I'll call you when I get there" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Troy kissed Gabriella's lips one last time and walked out of the house.


End file.
